Homeless Alabama Man Didn’t Think a Freshly Decapitated Snake Could Bite Him
OutdoorHub Reporters 03.30.12
A homeless man survived the venomous bite of a water moccasin snake in Mobile, Alabama Wednesday March 28th. James McMahon and his friend Alma Cousins were playing by a creek near the intersection of Marion and Jackson streets where McMahon lives in a homeless encampment.
Witnesses say an 18-inch water moccasin swam up on shore where Cousins chopped its head off with a machete. McMahon, 41, thought the snake was harmless when dead, put the snake’s head around his finger when it clamped down and punctured his finger.
The Fire-Rescue Department arrived on the scene at 1:24 p.m. Tuesday, but McMahon got scared when he heard the sirens and ran into woods until EMS left. When he returned, he was woozy, stumbled about and fell on nearby rocks. A WALA-TV10 cameraman phoned 911 and EMS returnded to take the man to the hospital at 1:57 p.m.
After a nurse gave him bus fare to reach the encampment, McMahon was back by 4 p.m.
