Rattlesnake transport leads to fatal crash

NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- A man who was injured last week while transporting a rattlesnake in New Orleans has died from his injuries, authorities said.

Authorities at the Orleans Parish coroner's office said that nearly a week after suffering significant head and spinal injuries in the motorcycle accident, 45-year-old Sandor Szalmas died Tuesday at University Hospital, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported.

Police said that Szalmas had been transporting a 5-foot-long rattlesnake on the back of his motorcycle last Wednesday, when the animal apparently distracted him.

The Hungarian national was unable to make a turn and struck a curb and crashed, resulting in his ultimately fatal injuries. University Hospital doctors found no signs that the snake had bitten Szalmas before or after the accident occurred.

Police investigators told the newspaper that they think Szalmas may have been transporting the snake believing it was dead and was shocked when the snake revived on the back of his motorcycle.