Boy, 4, bitten by snake at day care as family learns staff never called 911
Copperhead snakes are venomous serpents from the same subfamily as rattlesnakes and cottonmouths. Joseph – stock.adobe.com
A 4-year-old boy was hospitalized after being bitten by a copperhead snake while playing on a day care playground in North Carolina — and his family says the facility never called 911.
The incident happened Thursday at the New Beginnings Child Enrichment Center (NBCEC) in Stony Point, according to WRAL. The boy was playing near a sandbox when the venomous snake bit his left hand, causing significant swelling in his fingers.
Initially, the family was reportedly told the injury was just a splinter or possibly a broken hand. A staff member at the day care killed the snake after the bite, but the child’s relatives said they weren’t informed of what had actually happened until they arrived at the center.
“The director got up and said he got snakebit,” said the boy’s aunt, Brook Cooper, in an interview with local media. “My first thought was, why didn’t they call 911? My second thing was, do the other parents even know?”
Cooper claims it was the boy’s guardian who ultimately rushed him to the hospital for treatment — not the day care staff. Emergency officials in Alexander County later confirmed they never received a 911 call from the facility regarding the incident.
No update on the child’s condition has been released.
County officials noted that their emergency services team routinely responds to snake bites and assists victims before they are taken to local hospitals.
The day care has not responded to requests for comment.
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