After a shocking event involving a black rat snake that scared a family in Eugene, Missouri, the Missouri Department of Conservation is telling people to check their cars carefully.
As LeAnna Binkley, a teacher in the area, drove her son Grady to baseball practice, a black rat snake popped out of the engine and landed on the hood of the car.
The mother and son were shocked but determined as they tried to get the snake out of the car. On the other hand, the stubborn snake had other plans.
The Missouri Department of Conservation says that the snake “popped out on the hood” and quickly went back into the engine area before it could be taken off.
Binkley couldn’t get the crawling passenger to get out of the car, so she kept driving, this time to her job as a teacher at Cole R-5, a nearby school.
When she got there, she asked her coworkers, including the district director, to help her find and get rid of the strange reptile.
The story got a lot of attention when the Department of Conservation shared it on social media. It also brought attention to a bigger problem.
They used the event to warn people in Missouri to check under their car hoods, especially in the warmer months when snakes might look for shelter in the engine bay or under the cover of a parked car.
Black rat snakes are common in Missouri, and they are not poisonous. They don’t pose a major threat to people, but it can be scary to see one out of the blue, especially if you’re driving.
At the end of their post, the department left a friendly but strong reminder: always be careful, especially in rural or wooded areas; and if you park your car for a long time, quickly check under the hood.
You can’t tell what might be riding along with you.
