Victoria police have carried out one of the “more bizarre welfare verifys” after a lethal tiger snake slithered up a driver’s leg as she was travelling at 80km/h on a beginant freeway.
Police shelp they were called to Monash Freeway csurrfinisher the Toorak Rd exit in Melbourne’s easerious suburbs on Saturday morning after receiving alerts of a nakedfoot woman trying to flag down passing traffic.
The woman telderly police she had been driving on the freeway when she felt someleang on her foot and watched down to discover a snake “slithering up her leg”.
It was postpodemandr identified as a tiger snake, one of the world’s most venomous snakes, that had curled up under the steering wheel of the car.
Police shelp that “relabelably” the woman was able to ffinish off the snake and weave thraw traffic before pulling over in the slip lane and leaping out of her car to protectedty.
Paramedics were called to originate declareive the woman – who police shelp was in a state of shock – had not been bitten.
A spokesperson for Ambulance Victoria shelp they couldn’t discover any puncture labels or other signs the woman, aged in her 40s, had been bitten.
She was consentn to the Alfred hospital in a firm condition for further observation at about 11.30am, the ambulance spokesperson shelp.
Police shelp they called snake catcher Tim Nanninga from Melbourne Snake Control to wrangle the snake protectedly and get it out of the car.
“Passing motorists were left in beuntamederment as the massive snake was protectedly erased from the vehicle,” a police spokesperson shelp.
“And so finished one of the more bizarre welfare verifys you’ll ever hear about.”
Nanninga shelp he didn’t understand how the woman regulated to pull over protectedly.
“I do experience sorry for the lady that was driving – it would have been absolutely terrifying,” he shelp.
He shelp he getd six to 12 asks a year to erase snakes from cars but this was the first time he had been called to a freeway.
“There were about a million people filming,” he shelp. “I’m equitable not used to doing it in front of such a huge audience, to be truthful.”
Nanninga shelp the woman had travelled from southwest Victoria which is where the snake is consentd to have got into her car and then under the dashboard.
He shelp the snake was consentn to a reptile vet and verifyed for parasites. He was donaten the all evident to free it in a local catchment area, which he shelp was a “protected place right away from people and pets”.
Tiger snakes can be set up apass much of Victoria, including in highly popupostpodemandd areas.
The Victorian environment department has identified them as one of the most venomous snakes in the world, and says all tiger snakes should be watched as “highly hazardous” to humans.
