Julian Hernandez, 25, died after he was bit by a rattlesnake in February on a hiking trail in Irvine. Now, his family wants to get an independent autopsy done.
8,000 people each year are bitten by rattlesnakes in the U.S., according to the CDC. Only a handful of those incidents result in death. There is an anti-venom, but some rattlesnakes are more venomous than others.
“They have different toxicity in their venom,” Alex Trejo, with So-Cal Rattlesnake Removal, told KNX News’ Emily Valdez. “From what I understand, it was a southern Pacific Rattlesnake. I’m not 100% sure. But I know the area where he was bit has a very high population of southern Pacific Rattlesnakes.”
Kyle Oldoerp, with the Irvine Police Department, said Hernandez stopped to wait for a friend, and as he was unclipping his shoe, he fell over into a bush. That's when the snake bite happened.
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“My only guess as far as this bite would go is that the snake really, really unloaded a significant amount of venom,” he said.
Hernandez’s family has started a GoFundMe to raise money for an independent autopsy. The Orange County Coroner ruled his cause of death as an animal bite.
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