Clay Davenport
Cerebral Nomad
Two snakes at a back-road mailbox bit a letter carrier four times on the hand Saturday, township police said.
Before they could be identified as venomous or not, the snakes escaped into the dense, late-summer foliage behind the mailbox in the 100 block of Still Valley Road. The bit woman, in her 20s, reported tingling in her fingers. She bled slightly but exhibited no swelling or discoloration, police said.
The carrier, whose name was unavailable, pulled her U.S. Postal Service vehicle up for a delivery about 11:40 a.m. Frank Miller made the mailbox from an iron pipe after vandals previously bashed his mailbox with baseball bats, his wife, Jane Miller, said.
Complete with a hinged lid, the mailbox rests on lumber extending back to a low bank covered in daffodil greens, jewel weed and black-eyed susies.
One or both snakes struck when the letter carrier reached into the mailbox, police said. The woman told police she encountered a small snake and a large one.
The Phillipsburg Emergency Squad rushed the victim to St. Luke's Hospital, Fountain Hill. Police had no information on her condition as of 5:40 p.m. The hospital does not release patient information without a name.
Jane Miller said she and her husband get their mail through the Phillipsburg Post Office. Personnel there referred questions about the incident to Postmaster Victor Lopez, who is unavailable until Monday.
Miller said she never had a similar experience, although she has seen garter snakes, copperheads and black snakes on her property.
The incident occurred a few miles from the Warren Glen property of Terry Garvey on Route 519. Garvey, 63, was bitten by a copperhead about the beginning of August, and he spent two days in intensive care. The bite led to New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife monitoring of the venomous snakes on and around the property.
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Before they could be identified as venomous or not, the snakes escaped into the dense, late-summer foliage behind the mailbox in the 100 block of Still Valley Road. The bit woman, in her 20s, reported tingling in her fingers. She bled slightly but exhibited no swelling or discoloration, police said.
The carrier, whose name was unavailable, pulled her U.S. Postal Service vehicle up for a delivery about 11:40 a.m. Frank Miller made the mailbox from an iron pipe after vandals previously bashed his mailbox with baseball bats, his wife, Jane Miller, said.
Complete with a hinged lid, the mailbox rests on lumber extending back to a low bank covered in daffodil greens, jewel weed and black-eyed susies.
One or both snakes struck when the letter carrier reached into the mailbox, police said. The woman told police she encountered a small snake and a large one.
The Phillipsburg Emergency Squad rushed the victim to St. Luke's Hospital, Fountain Hill. Police had no information on her condition as of 5:40 p.m. The hospital does not release patient information without a name.
Jane Miller said she and her husband get their mail through the Phillipsburg Post Office. Personnel there referred questions about the incident to Postmaster Victor Lopez, who is unavailable until Monday.
Miller said she never had a similar experience, although she has seen garter snakes, copperheads and black snakes on her property.
The incident occurred a few miles from the Warren Glen property of Terry Garvey on Route 519. Garvey, 63, was bitten by a copperhead about the beginning of August, and he spent two days in intensive care. The bite led to New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife monitoring of the venomous snakes on and around the property.
Link