The Volusia County plumber who was bitten by a coral snake — the deadliest snake in North America — said he started seeing double-vision while sitting at a traffic light just minutes after he suffered the bite.
Troy Johns, 46, was finishing a plumbing job Tuesday when he grabbed some hoses. He instantly felt a sting on his index finger.
He grabbed the snake, threw it on the ground and then bottled it up.
"I was driving to another job site, (and) I got really dizzy," Johns told Florida Hospital DeLand, which supplied the video. "So, I, um, called my boss lady and told her, and she was, like, call 911. And I said no, I'm OK, I'm going on to the next job. This was like 15 minutes later. And I stopped at the next traffic light and I started seeing double-vision."
Johns eventually pulled into a Winn-Dixie parking lot, and he was taken to the hospital via ambulance. He received the antivenin injection at Florida Hospital DeLand, which is one of three hospitals in the United States that uses a new coral snake antivenin.
He said the swelling in his arm is going down and that he's feeling better.
Coral snakes are the second deadliest snakes in the world. Only the Black Mamba, which is found in Africa, is deadlier.
- RELATED: Guide to venomous snakes in Florida (Florida Fish and Wildlife)
A coral snake's venom can lead to respiratory failure and death if a bit victim doesn’t receive the antivenin injection within a few hours.