MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. – A 21-year-old Amazon delivery driver who was bitten by a rattlesnake in Palm City on Monday is awake and talking.
WPTV spoke very briefly with injured driver Monet Robinson. She said she was in a lot of pain but had family members with her while she recovered in the hospital.
Robinson was bitten by a five-foot-long rattlesnake while she was working.
Body camera video showed a Martin County sheriff’s deputy arriving at the scene after the attack.
Palm City
Amazon delivery driver bitten by ‘highly venomous’ rattlesnake in Martin County
9:58 a.m., September 19, 2023
Robinson was taken to Cleveland Clinic Martin North where she is recovering from the snake bite to the inside of her thigh.
The snake was captured and euthanized by another sheriff’s deputy.
One person who has had many encounters with snakes is Ken Gioeli, University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences representative for St. Lucie County. He said in late 2021 his dog named Freckles encountered a rattlesnake.
“I put on my Teflon boots,” Gioeli said. “I had my snake control equipment with me and I came out real quick and caught the snake.”
The snakeskin from his encounter is now used in educational presentations.
Gioeli said one myth is that you can tell a snake’s age by the number of rattles it makes. He said an eastern diamondback rattlesnake actually produces a rattle every one to six years.
“The more it eats, the warmer it is, the more it grows,” Gioeli said. “When it molts, it produces a new rattle.”
While encountering a snake can increase your heart rate, first responders said the fact that the Amazon driver was able to stay calm saved them.
WPTV attempted to contact Robinson again but was unable to speak to her about her condition and the incident.