Pennsylvania Man Dies After Being Choked By His 18-Foot Pet Snake

A Pennsylvania man died yesterday (July 24) after being choked by his 18-foot pet snake days earlier, according to NBC News.

Upper Macungie Township police officers were dispatched to 27-year-old Elliot Senseman's home on the 1400 block of Church Street Wednesday at 2:12 p.m. "for a male in cardiac arrest with a snake wrapped around his neck," according to a department statement. When officers arrived, they found the man unresponsive on the floor with the body of a boa constrictor (or "similar snake") wrapped around his neck. An officer managed to shoot the "massive" reptile in the head without risking further injury to Senseman. Officers then pulled the fatally shot snake off of the man and emergency medical care was provided.

Senseman was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, where he unfortunately died four days after the attack. The animal, which they originally estimated to be about 15-feet long, caused an "anoxic brain injury" and "complete lack of oxygen to the brain," according to the Lehigh County Coroner's office.

According to SpinalChord.com, "Anoxic brain injury occurs when the brain is deprived of oxygen. Left without oxygen for too long, neural cells begin to die through a process called apoptosis. And though cell death is a normal part of the human experience, when a large number of brain cells simultaneously die, patients can be left with diminished brain function. If the oxygen deprivation continues, anoxic brain injuries may even become fatal."