Stowaway Snake

McLEAN, Va. (AP) - Maybe he heard a faint rattling around in his
luggage, but he surely never assumed the sound came from a
poisonous snake sealed in his bag and waiting to strike.
But that's what happened to a Virginia man bitten by what
authorities believe was a young canebrake rattlesnake.
High school rowing coach Andy Bacas reached into his luggage
Monday after returning from a team trip to South Carolina when he
felt a sharp pain. That's when he saw the nearly foot-long snake
and slammed the luggage shut with the snake inside.
Firefighters killed it with a blast from a carbon dioxide fire
extinguisher. Bacas went to the hospital for treatment.
Local authorities say there's no evidence the snake was
deliberately put into the bag.
A snake expert says it's conceivable a snake would crawl into
luggage seeking warmth or shelter, but his first instinct is to
suspect some sort of prank.