Torrington man hospitalized after rattlesnake bite, family says

A Torrington man suffered a rattlesnake bite Sunday and was treated at Hartford Hospital Monday, family members said.

Joseph Ricciardella was driving home from upstate New York in Torrington Sunday night after dropping off their 4-year-old daughter after an overnight stay, said his former girlfriend, Brittany Hilmeyer. Ricciardella called her around 7:10 p.m. and said he had just been bitten by a rattlesnake, she said.

At first, Hilmeyer thought he was joking, but Ricciardella sounded upset. He said he had stopped to remove a rattlesnake from the road because he didn’t want it to get run over, Hilmeyer said. He took pictures of the snake, threw a shirt over its head and picked it up, but the viper bit his hand, Ricciardella told Hilmeyer, before appearing to lose his ability to speak.

“He couldn’t speak almost immediately and his breathing became tight,” she said.

Ricciardella managed to drive himself to Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in Torrington, but was later flown by helicopter to Hartford Hospital, Hilmeyer said. Representatives from both hospitals did not respond to phone calls Monday. Local police and fire officials said they had no information about the bite.

Ricciardella’s brother, Robert Ricciardella, said staff at Hartford Hospital kept Joseph, 45, under heavy sedation until the swelling went down. His brother also received several doses of the antidote, Robert Ricciardella said.

“They said they’re not familiar with snakebites, so they brought in specialists to look at him,” Ricciardella said. “It’s not that common in the state.”

The timber rattlesnake and the northern copperhead are the two venomous snakes of Connecticut. Several dogs have been bitten by both species, but bites to humans are uncommon here.

Rattlers are native but endangered in Connecticut and can be found in Litchfield County and in East Hampton, Glastonbury, Marlborough and Portland. Disease has been a factor in the decline, along with habitat loss and persecution. The species was likely widespread in the state during colonial times, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. DEEP spokesman Will Healey said the agency had not heard of anyone being bitten by a rattlesnake as of Sunday.

Using small, implanted transmitters, DEEP biologists track rattlesnakes in the western part of the state to learn about their distribution and movement patterns. Historically, the agency has not spent as much time studying the western population as it has east of the Connecticut River.

Joseph Ricciardella, who grew up in Waterbury and upstate New York, owns his own landscaping business, family members said. Robert Ricciardella said he and his brother often caught snakes when they were boys. Hilmeyer said Joseph Ricciardella is such an animal lover that he once took an injured bat that had gotten into his house to rest there until it healed.