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PHOENIX (KSAZ) - As temperatures rise in the Valley, the risk with rattlesnakes also increase. One Valley man had a close encounter with the reptile, and said a random coincidence may have saved him from a bite.
"I didn't notice the snake at all," said Mat Patterson. "It was crawling between the two cars as I was taking a picture."
The incident, according to Patterson, happened last weekend, as he was getting done with a hike on South Mountain. After a long day on the trail, Patterson said he wasn't paying much attention, until he heard that familiar sound.
The sound of a rattlesnake underneath the car next to him.
"About three inches away from my feet," said Patterson. "I saw the rattler of a rattlesnake."
Naturally, Patterson was startled, but said a little bit of luck prevented the situation from getting worse. As he got back to his blue car, he noticed that an identical car was parked right next to his.
"Thought it was interesting," said Patterson. "Same car, same model, same everything. So, I pulled out my phone to take a picture of the two."
In the picture Patterson took, the snake can be seen crawling from underneath his car, to the other car next to his.
Patterson said he has lived in Phoenix for 17 years, and has never seen a rattlesnake in the wild, until now. He said if it wasn't for that serendipidous coincidence, he might be dealing with a snakebite.
"My car door was still open," said Patterson. "I didn't want it going in there, so I ended climbing through the passenger seat, took a couple more pictures from inside my car, and drove off."