A toddler from the Austin area has died after being bitten by a rattlesnake while visiting Possum Kingdom Lake with her family.
Peyton Hood of Pflugerville died early Wednesday, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office. She would have turned 2 next month.
The Palo Pinto County Sheriff’s department says deputies received a call Tuesday night from a woman saying her granddaughter had suffered a snake bite on the south side of the lake, which is about 70 miles west of Fort Worth.
The girl was taken to a Fort Worth hospital, where she died.
Two or three people die of snakebites each year in Texas, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
By comparison, five to seven people die each year from reaction to insect bites and about eight die each year from lightning strikes, according to the agency.
“This is something we come across every once in a while,” said Capt. Neal Bieler of the game wardens’ Fort Worth office. “Cottonmouths, copperheads and diamondbacks are all over the state, so you just need to be aware of your surroundings.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest keeping the victim still and calm to slow the spread of the venom and calling 911 immediately.