Construction worker bit by Mojave Green

ADELANTO • A construction worker was recently bit by a Mojave Green rattlesnake, marking the first venomous bite in the High Desert in some time in the midst of what experts are calling a particularly active snake season.

The bite happened Tuesday morning at the future site of Adelanto High School, which is under construction along Mojave Drive between Raccoon Avenue and Joshua Road.

The worker had left his toolbox at the site overnight, according to Herb Calderon, assistant superintendent of business services for the Victor Valley Union High School District, which is building the new high school. When the man went to reach in and get out a tool that morning, Calderon said he was bit in the forearm.

Mercy Air landed a helicopter near the scene and transported the man to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he was reportedly put in the hands of resident snake expert Dr. Sean Bush. A spokesperson from the hospital couldn’t provide details Friday, but Calderon said they’ve been checking in periodically and have been told that the man is recovering and should be fine.

When Adelanto Animal Control got to the scene Tuesday, Officer Steve Peltier said someone had already killed the snake and turned it over to them.

Peltier said it was an 18-inch Mojave Green — the deadly rattlesnake that’s been out in force this season thanks to a long, wet winter and an abundance of rodents and insects.

“Our numbers are higher than what we’ve seen in the past,” Peltier said.

Joseph Banashek with the Mojave Desert Rattlesnake Research group in Adelanto said he’s tagged 130 Mojaves this season, shattering records from past years. He counted just 17 in 2007 and 2009, and only 18 in all of 2008.

To read more about Mojave Greens, see the full story in Sunday's Press Dispatch. To subscribe to the Daily Press in print or online, call (760) 241-7755, 1-800-553-2006 or click here.

Brooke Edwards may be reached at (760) 955-5358 or at bedwards@VVDailyPress.com.