Rattlesnakes can be deadly in car crashes.
Rattlesnakes can be deadly in car crashes. Brent Myers/CC BY 2.0

No one is happy to have to respond to a mini-van crash, but it’s even worse when you show up and the scene is infested with poisonous snakes.

That’s exactly what happened to a crew of volunteer firefighters who arrived at the scene of a recent accident.

According to a story on My San Antonio, the vehicle experienced a roll-over after one of the tires blew out while it was on the highway. The mini-van was carrying some 30 snakes, as well as a tortoise, a baby alligator, and a nine-year-old human boy. The two humans involved in the crash, the driver, a herpetologist, and the young boy—his grandson—were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, while the firefighters worked to recapture the animals that had been released.

Among the variety of snakes that escaped were deadly species including rattlesnakes and copperheads. Luckily, no one was bitten during or after the incident.