Agoura toddler survives rattlesnake bite

A rattlesnake near her Agoura home bit a 21-month toddler around 5 p.m. last Tuesday, officials report.

Two fire engines, paramedics and a helicopter were dispatched from nearby Fire Station 56, close to the toddler’s home, off Cornell Road on Crags Drive in Agoura, according to fireman/paramedic Steve Bernau, one of the people to stabilize the little girl before she was quickly flown to UCLA Medical Center in Westwood for antivenin and other treatment.

The little girl (who remains unnamed at the request of her parents, who also declined interviews) apparently put her hand into something containing a rattlesnake and was bitten on the hand.

"Her father was home and called us. We got there pretty quick. We set up a helicopter-landing zone at the nearby Paramount Ranch. It was a critical snakebite, but she didn’t have critical symptoms. (Her hand) was black and blue with swelling, and she was crying," said Bernau.

"It really wasn’t that big of a deal," he continued. Her father came by (later in the week) to let us know she was doing fine."

Initially, she was placed in the pediatric intensive care unit at the UCLA Medical Center, but was doing well by the end of the week, and scheduled to be moved to a regular pediatric ward, according to hospital representative Elaine Schmidt.

––Sharon Makokian