Mail carrier bitten by snake in mailbox

TAMPA - A 66-year-old mail carrier opened a mailbox this morning only to be bitten by an eastern diamondback rattlesnake.

Tampa Fire Rescue paramedics responded to a call about the bite at 11:40 a.m., when someone called 911 from 16350 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., a post office.

The mailman, Efrain Arango, drove himself back to the post office after the bite and was taken to University Community Hospital, where he was treated in the emergency room. Arango has been working part time for the Postal Service for about 11 months. Also a school bus driver, he took the extra job to help pay his daughter's college expenses, he said.

The address of the offending snake is unknown for now.

Rebecca Catalanello and Rodney Thrash, Times Staff Writers

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