"As soon as it landed on my feet, I felt it," Swisher told KFSM-TV. "It was rough and scaly. As it slithered across my feet, it was the nails-on-a-chalk-board kind of thing."
Swisher said her memories of the ensuing events are blurry.
"I do not know if I had my hands on the steering wheel or not," Swisher said. "I am not the most flexible person in the world, but I can guarantee my knees were up next to my ears."
The motorist said she was overcome with fear of the reptile.
"I don't remember much about it. Panic kind of took over. The only thing I know is god had his hand on me and on my car," she told KNWA-TV.
Swisher called 911 for help.
"[The dispatcher] asked me to repeat my request and I told her I had a snake in my car," she said.
Swisher said the snake disappeared back into her dashboard, leading her to attempt to drive the vehicle off the interstate.
"That did not work out either," Swisher said. "Here he comes, and he wound up in the back seat of my car."
The Washington County Sheriff's Office dispatched animal control officers who had to dismantle the glove compartment to capture the reptile, which was identified as a nonvenomous rat snake.
"God had his hand on me. He protected me. He protected my car. That is all there is to that," Swisher said.
