11 year old survives snake bite

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer

WINFIELD — A child has returned home from the hospital after being bitten by a venomous snake on the bank of the Luxapillila Creek where it runs through Ivan K. Hill Recreational Park on Tuesday, Aug. 13.
According to Winfield Mayor Randy Price, 11-year-old Bentley Parker was fishing with a friend along the top of the bank of the creek that runs behind the park when one of their fishing lines became tangled on something on the bank.
When Parker stepped up to the bank to untangle the line, he said he saw what he thought was the head of a frog. He didn’t realize that he was looking at the head of a cottonmouth until it was too late.
Parker’s father, who works for Price, was on a service call in Mississippi when the bite occurred, so Price went to the park to check on Parker.
Price said paramedics had already loaded Parker in an ambulance, and that Parker was going to be airlifted to Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham.
Price said doctors weren’t sure what type of snake it was that had bitten Parker, but they treated him for a cottonmouth bite. That treatment ended up working, and Parker was allowed to return home the following day.
Price urged caution when spending time outdoors during the summer, especially around creeks.
“It wasn’t out in the open park. It was the edge of the bank,” Price said. “As hot as it is, you’ll see snakes everywhere, especially around creeks since that’s where cottonmouths like to hang out.”
Price said the community around Parker had his back throughout the entire ordeal.
“There were a lot of people reaching out to him to check on him and volunteer whatever kind of help he needed,” Price said. “The principal and teachers at the elementary school all kept up to date on how he was doing and if there was anything they needed to do. The community showed that they really cared about what was happening.”
In Marion County, snake bites…