SCARY HITCHHIKER HANGS ON FOR A FANG IN THE UTE
A DRIVER got the fright of his life when a large snake popped up next to his window as he and his partner were driving along a road in regional NSW.
Couple Rachael Pace and her boyfriend Kyle Vella were driving in Stroud, on the NSW mid- north coast, when the snake hitched a ride.
Ms Pace filmed their startling encounter with the huge reptile as it suddenly popped up next to her boyfriend’s window as he was driving.
Mr Vella’s shock at the surprise hitchhiker can be heard in the video as he yells “holy shit” as the snake slithers along his window.
“Oh my god, what the f … do we do,” he asked his girlfriend in the video.
But the snake had no plans of going anywhere as it lay along the base of the window before rearing its head to get a better look at the couple.
“Look how big it is, it goes back there,” she said as she pointed the camera to the rear of their ute.
Eventually, Mr Vella pulled over and tried to shake his door to move the snake on, but it was to no avail.
The terrifying video has gone viral on social media, with more than 100 comments and 400 shares of Ms Pace’s Facebook post.
“It’s not every day that you’re driving and a snake casually pops up,” she said in the post on New Year’s Eve.
She said a kind neighbour who lived across the road from where they stopped helped them get the snake off their car. They then let it go into a nearby creek.
NSW Poisons Information Centre Senior Specialist, Genevieve Adamo, said the state’s snake season peaked in late December and January. She urged people to watch out for snakes and spiders outdoors as the weather heated up during the summer holidays.
“Australia has some of the most venomous snakes in the world, so it’s important people seek immediate medical assistance for all suspected bites,” she said.
“If someone is bitten by a snake you should keep them still, call an ambulance and apply a pressure immobilisation bandage.
“Tight tourniquets should not be applied and the bite site should not be washed, cut or sucked.”