Man rescued after rattlesnake bite

TAMPA, Fla., Nov. 26 (UPI) -- A deputy sheriff in Florida was rescued by a friend after he was bitten by a rattlesnake.

The Tampa Tribune reported that Brandon Parker, 28, was off duty and walking with a friend, Circuit Judge Chet Tharpe Jr., on a nature trail when a diamondback rattlesnake bit his left leg.

Since the friends were deep inside the park where they had been hiking, an all-terrain vehicle had to be used to trudge through dirt roads and thick woods.

A helicopter flew in with a dose of anti-venom and Parker was taken to Tampa General Hospital in serious condition.

The snake was killed by a deputy, the Tribune reported.