25-year-old OC man dies after rattlesnake bite

[RockRaven]

2. This is tragic. But please don't learn the wrong lesson. Rattlesnake bites are rare, and usually nonfatal.

If you encounter a rattlesnake, don't freak out.
Don't try to kill it to protect yourself.
Don't try to move it.
Just stay away from it.
Leave it alone.

https://nhm.org/stories/misplaced-fears-rattlesnakes-are-not-dangerous-ladders-trees-dogs-or-large-tvs

In the U.S., the snakes typically involved in human fatalities include native species like rattlesnakes, copperheads, and cottonmouths as well as a number of non-native species that are sometimes kept as pets, both legally and illegally, and zoo animals. There are also three species of coral snakes in the U.S., but with their small mouths and fangs, bites to people are rare and usually involve a person handling the snake. To avoid being bitten by a coral snake, follow this simple rule: Don’t pick it up. Here in Southern California, there are seven species of rattlesnakes (making this herpetologist quite happy to live here). Most are found in the deserts, but the Southern Pacific Rattlesnake is common in the foothills and mountains surrounding the larger coastal cities. Each year, around 7,000–8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes in the U.S. This may sound like a large number, but given that the U.S. population is quickly approaching 324 million people, this represents a tiny proportion of the population (less than 0.0025%). Of these 8,000 or so bites, on average, 5–6 result in fatalities (Table 1). This means, you are 6 times more likely to die from a lightning strike or a dog attack, 8 times more likely to die from a TV set or other large furniture falling on you, 14 times more likely to die falling out of a tree, and 95 times more likely to die falling off a ladder. Of course all of these numbers pale in comparison to risks posed by car accidents (over 30,000 fatalities per year) or of dying of heart disease or cancer, which are the two leading causes of mortality in the U.S. (Table 1). Despite the reality of the low risks from animal attacks in the U.S., snakebites and also shark bites (less than one fatality per year in the U.S.) get a huge amount of attention in the popular press.