Family bike ride ends in tragedy, Colorado boy dies days after getting bitten by rattlesnake
A family bike ride on a Colorado Springs-area trail ended in unimaginable tragedy this month. A father with his two children was taking a water break in the Bluestem Prairie Open Space when his 6-year-old son ran ahead and was bitten by a rattlesnake. Many days later he died.
"Being a dad myself it really, really hits home," Security Fire Battalion Chief Derek Chambers said.
He was among the first to respond to the call on July 5 just after 8 a.m.
"As soon as the kid was bitten the dad grabbed him and started running toward the street ... screaming for help," he said.
Members of his department were on scene within minutes, and a helicopter arrived shortly afterwards.
The child would make it to the hospital but died days later.
"It's hard to imagine what that family is going through," he said.
After more than a decade at the station, it was his first response to a snake bite. But he says sightings are common.
Eric Chapin told CBS News Colorado on Tuesday, the day after the boy's death, that he runs in that same area on a daily basis.
"I try to avoid them. Sometimes I just stop and wait for them to clear the trail," he said.
Chambers says there are several things to remember if a snake were to bite you or someone you are with.
"Stay calm, try and slow down your heart rate as much as possible, leave the bite wound lower than the heart; don't elevate," he said. "Don't put a tourniquet on it and don't try and suck out the venom, but get the child or patient to a hospital as quick as possible."
