North Texas Officer Helps Wrangle Snake From Inside Man’s Car At Shopping Center – CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

McKINNEY, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – Snakes On A Plane was a 2006 action movie, but snake in a car was a 2021 reality for a McKinney man.

McKinney Police Officer Chance Steele was there to help when a man found one in his car while leaving the parking lot of The Westgate Shopping Center.

The shopper—who police did not identify— was coming out of the center when he noticed a snake in his car.

He told Officer Steele he had been bitten by a Copperhead a couple of weeks ago and was hesitant to remove the animal himself.

That’s when Officer Steele stepped in along with two other responders who spent 30 minutes luring what turned out to be a nonvenomous snake away.

McKinney Officer Chance Steele with snake (credit: Chance Steele)

Steele said he’s accustomed to rounding up snakes since his childhood days in New Mexico in the Panhandle.

After successfully removing the animal, Officer Steele gave the man some advice.

“Showed him the snake, showed him that it wasn’t poisonous,” said Steele. “Identified how you can tell whether a snake is poisonous or not. I think he has a better understanding of snakes and how they are and not to be scared of them.”

Steele also said, unless you can identify the snake to be nonvenomous, keep your distance and call first responders immediately.