- A Florida Amazon driver is hospitalized in “very serious condition” after being bitten by a snake.
- She was delivering a package when she was bitten by a highly venomous Eastern diamondback rattlesnake.
- Amazon drivers have described facing challenges on the job like dog bites and excessive heat.
An Amazon driver is in “very serious condition” after being bitten by a highly venomous rattlesnake while making a delivery, authorities said.
The delivery worker, whose identity Insider was unable to immediately confirm, was dropping off a package at a home in Palm City, Florida, on Monday night when she was bitten by an Eastern diamondback rattlesnake “coiled up near the front door,” according to a Facebook post from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday.
“The driver walked to the door, put the package down and was struck by the snake in the back of the leg, just above the knee,” the post said. “She immediately became ill and called 911.”
The driver was taken to a hospital. The Facebook post, made Tuesday morning, said the driver was in “very serious condition.”
“Our thoughts are with the driver and we hope for a full recovery after this frightening incident,” Amazon spokesperson Branden Baribeau said in a statement. “Together, with the Delivery Service Partner, we’re looking into the circumstances surrounding this incident and continue to make sure that drivers understand they should not complete a delivery if they feel unsafe.”
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment on the driver’s current condition.
Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes are “highly venomous” and very common in the area, according to the post from the sheriff’s office. Each year, an estimated 7,000 to 8,000 people in the US are bitten by venomous snakes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Florida, only six of the state’s 50 established snake species are venomous, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.
Delivery drivers have spoken out about contending with issues like bites, often from dogs, and extreme heat on the job.
Sometimes, such an incident can prove fatal. In August 2022, a USPS mail carrier died after she was attacked by five dogs when her truck broke down, the local sheriff’s office said. In October, an Amazon delivery driver was found dead in a yard in Missouri and was suspected to have been mauled by two dogs.
Last month, a 57-year-old UPS driver in Texas died after collapsing while making deliveries in the heat.
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