Red-bellied black snake peeks head out of Australian driver's hood

ADELAIDE, Australia, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- An Australian woman's road trip came to a screeching halt after a snake popped its head out of her car's engine.

Sally Grundy shared video of the encounter as she traveled about 60 mph between Adelaide and the Mundoo Island Station campground as the red-bellied black snake emerged from the car's engine.

"Petrified would sum up my nervous state for the hour I had to drive," she said. "I was hopeful that new cars don't have any gaps that a snake could move from the engine well into the internal section of the car!"

She continued to drive along, shutting her air vents to keep the reptile outside of the car, as the snake casually turned its head from side to side and slowly slithered even further out from the hood.

"Every time he disappeared I was really on edge but when he popped his head up, it still frightened me each time he did it but at least I knew he was still under the bonnet," She told ABC News.

Mitsubishi Motors Australia's Facebook account responded to Grundy's video to assure her the snake would not be able to enter the interior of her car.

"Scary situation! But we've double checked with our product planning team and unless you gave him the keys there's no way he could have gotten into the cabin with you," the company wrote. "The big question we want to know is did he enjoy the ride in your Pajero Sport?"

Grundy attempted to pull the snake out of the engine herself but said it was too strong and managed to make its way deeper into the vehicle. She hoped the snake would crawl out on its own, but awoke to find it still coiled around the engine the next morning.

"We went and opened the bonnet and it was curled up on the top of the engine in the warmth of the sun," she said. "There's a chance that he's still in there because they tend to hang around apparently for up to a few days and then they get hungry and then they head off."