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An Arlington man who was bitten by a rattlesnake after reaching into his suitcase on Monday was expected to return home Tuesday after spending the night in the intensive care unit at INOVA Fairfax Hospital.
Forty-five-year-old Andrew Bacas was unpacking Monday after a trip last week to South Carolina when he encountered the juvenile, ten-inch canebrake rattlesnake. The Yokrtown High School crew coach had led students on a training trip to Summerton, where he stayed in a rustic cabin.
Bacas drove home on Friday, and only decided to unpack his gear Monday morning. When Bacas reached inside the bag, he was bitten on the hand.
"'In my suitcase, a snake,' he said. 'Oh my God, a snake,'" recounted Bacas' housekeeper, Thelma Rivas. 
Bacas was able to close and secure the suitcase, trapping the snake.
Rivas said she called 911 while Bacas tried to suck the deadly venom out of his hand.
"He said it felt like an electric shock when he got bit," said Bacas' son, Peter.
Andrew Bacas believes the snake slithered into his suitcase while he was staying at the cabin last week.
"(The suitcase) was outside, like on this little porch area of where we were staying and he left the suitcase out there and I guess that's where it climbed in," said Peter Bacas.
When firefighters arrived, they hauled the suitcase out of the house. They used a fire extinguisher to freeze the snake and kill it.
The canebrake is one of the deadliest snakes native to North America. Animal experts say it is fortunate that the sn
ake was a juvenile, and therefor had less venom.
The Animal Rescue League was called in to dispose of the serpent. While canebrakes are common across the Carolinas, they are only found in rural areas, and encounters with humans are rare.
"I don't think it's common. I don't think everyone who goes where rattlesnakes live,I don't think they will have to worry about this happening to their bags." said Kay Speerstre with the Animal Rescue League.
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