Colorado Springs man gets bitten by a rattlesnake while biking at Ute Valley Park

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - A Colorado Springs man is now in the hospital after being bitten by a rattlesnake. It happened while he and his friend were out biking in Ute Valley Park. That's on the west side of the city off of Vindicator Drive. 

Just after 5 p.m. Tuesday, Casey Dion and his friend Jason Harrison were enjoying their typical bike ride through Ute Valley Park.

"So I was going downhill on a rocky road around a turn, so as I was turning into it it was kind of a blind spot anyway and then there was a drop off so when I went around there I kind of slapped on the brakes in little bit of a panic," said Dion. 

That's when Dion rode over a rattlesnake. 

"It was sitting right in the middle of the trail," explained Dion.

He said within seconds he felt the snake's venom run through his body. 

"It just felt like someone hit me in the middle of the foot with a nail and then as soon as I felt it I looked down and I saw it coming back up to try and strike me again," said Dion.

But before the snake had the opportunity to bite him again, Dion took off, pedaling on his bike as fast as he could. He rode a half a mile before stopping again and Harrison called 911 for help. 

"He called 9-1-1 immediately and he was talking with them through the process as we got to the street," said Dion.

Dion eventually made it to Penrose Hospital where he got his first anti-venom shot.

"My body started tingling all the way through my body and my tongue it was just kind of like when you lick a battery. So yeah I was kind of scared not knowing what a normal reaction is," said Dion.  

When a person is bitten by a rattlesnake, it's critical that they keep their heart rate low and immediately put pressure on the wound. Doctors told him if he would have waited any longer or even biked further, it's likely he wouldn't be alive. 

So far, Dion has received three anti-venom shots and seems to be doing okay. But doctors still aren't sure when he'll be able to go back home.