Large python hangs out car window on Houston highway

April 14 (UPI) -- A Texas woman who spotted something strange hanging from another driver's window captured video of a large snake airing out its tail on the highway.

Amber Cranfill said she initially couldn't tell what the object was hanging out of the driver's side window of a car the next lane over from her on Houston's South Belt.

"I thought it was a guy's arm with tattoos at first," she told KTRK-TV.

Cranfill posted a photo to Facebook showing what the object actually turned out to be -- a large python's tail.

"I saw the tail move and I thought oh my gosh, he has a snake," she said. "It was 6 to 8 feet long."

Cranfill captured video of the snake casually hanging its tail out while stretched across the driver's dashboard.

She said she was worried the snake was going to get too much of its body outside the vehicle.

"[The driver] would gently pull it back in. I pulled away from the car, because at one point I thought the snake might fall out. I don't like snakes, but I didn't want to hit someone's pet," Cranfill said.

Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Danny Perez said the snake owner's actions appear top constitute distracted driving.

"People's attention needs to be focused on the road," he said. "At any time, you can come up on a construction zone, and if you're distracted, it can have terrible consequences."