Man bitten by rattlesnake

A 22-year-old man was recovering Wednesday morning after he was bitten by a rattlesnake at a city park Tuesday night. The man, whose name was not released, told police that he picked up the snake in Edward Vincent Park, thinking it was harmless. Then it bit him, twice.

The man attempted to drive himself to the hospital, became ill and called 911 about 9:45 p.m., police said.

Officers and Los Angeles County paramedics found the man in the 100 block of North La Brea Avenue.

They took him and the snake, which he had placed in a bucket, to Centinela Hospital Medical Center, where staff determined what sort of antivenin to use to treat the man, Inglewood Police Sgt. Gabriela Garcia said.

The man was listed in good condition Wednesday morning, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

On Monday, a 9-inch rattler slithered under the screen door of a Lake Arrowhead home in the 1000 block of Sequoia Drive and bit 3-year-old Natalie Arenas on the foot, according to a San Bernardino County sheriff’s statement.

She was in stable condition, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske