Rare California rattlesnake bite kills cyclist after fall off an Orange County trail

A bike ride through one Irvine neighborhood ended in tragedy after 25-year-old Julian Hernandez fell into nearby brush, was bitten by a rattlesnake, and later died after spending more than a month in the hospital.

What happened?

Julian Hernandez, a 25-year-old from Costa Mesa, was biking near the Quail Hill Community Center when the incident occurred. 

According to Kyle Oldoerp, a spokesperson for the Irvine Police Department, Hernandez was apparently trying to unclip his bike shoe when he lost balance, fell off the trail, and landed in the brush, Voice of OC reported. It was then that he was bitten by the rattlesnake.

ABC 7 reported that Orange County Fire Authority crews treated Hernandez at the scene before taking him to a hospital, where he remained for more than a month before his death, which a coroner officially ruled as being due to the bite.

Before this incident, Irvine had not had a documented rattlesnake bite over the past 10 years, per Voice of OC. 

Are snakebites common?

Even among rattlesnake bites, deaths are uncommon. The CDC explained that among the 7,000 to 8,000 snakebites each year in the United States, only about five are fatal.

Yet, California has been experiencing a sharp increase in the number of snakebites this year. The California Poison Control System has noted on its website that "rattlesnake exposures are rising in California."

Some experts say encounters are more likely to happen due to worsening heat waves in the nation and state. 

Wildlife encounters are also often linked to expanding human presence in natural spaces, rather than animals acting aggressively for no reason. 

Cort Klopping, an employee for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, told ABC 7, "We do really advise that people stick to the more well-beaten paths and don't go off of those into a thicker, heavier brush."

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