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Virginia police escort rattlesnake across busy road

By Ben Hooper
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June 20 (UPI) -- Police in Virginia stopped traffic to help a rattlesnake on a busy road make it safely to the other side.

The Roanoke City Police Department posted photos to Facebook showing animal wardens coming to the assistance of an eastern diamondback rattlesnake spotted trying to cross Franklin Road on Tuesday morning.

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The department said animal wardens don't generally respond to calls about rattlesnakes, which are illegal to kill or relocate unless they are posing a direct danger to people, but officials considered the snake in the road to be a special circumstance.

The photos show animal wardens carefully helping the snake move from its spot in the road to a safer location in a nearby grassy field.

"The summer heat, roadwork and construction can cause snakes to become more active and seek out alternate locations," the post said. "This snake was on Franklin Road earlier today and our animal wardens moved it to safety."

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