Snake found clinging to van

RALEIGH, S.C., Sept. 4 (UPI) -- A Raleigh, N.C., woman said she was confused when a woman approached her minivan at a traffic light to tell her there was a snake hanging from her vehicle.

Marika Suominen-Yeh said she figured the shape seen by the other woman on the underside of her vehicle must have been a toy belonging to one of her children, but when she pulled out of traffic to investigate she could find nothing there, the Raleigh News & Observer reported Thursday.

Another motorist, Danny Markadakis, stopped to help Suominen-Yeh and when she told him she was looking for a snake, he pointed out a ball python in the middle of the road, where the minivan had been moments before.

Markadakis, a former snake owner, wrapped the python in a blanket and took it to Avian & Exotic Animal Care. He said the animal was docile and not the least bit aggressive.

"I'm sure it was somebody's pet," he said. "I just couldn't see him get killed in the middle of the road."

Jason Watkins, a managing technician at Avian, said the reptile was treated for mild abdominal burns and has since been adopted.

Suominen-Yeh said she now always checks her car for snakes before driving.

"I wondered, did this really happen?" she said. "It was so weird."