GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – A hiker from Illinois is recovering at an eastern Tennessee hospital after being bitten by a snake on the Appalachian Trail.
A supervisor with Greene County-Greeneville Emergency Medical Services identified the victim as 20-year-old Alex Rieger of Lake Zurich, Ill.
The Greeneville Sun reported Rieger was in fair condition Friday morning at the Johnson City Medical Center, where he was flown by helicopter late Thursday night.
Emergency personnel rescued Rieger after the county 911 center received a call about 6:45 p.m., saying a hiker had been struck by a snake believed to be a copperhead and was too ill to hike out.
South Greene Volunteer Fire Department EMT Rex Johnson told the newspaper Rieger had been gathering firewood and was bitten on the left hand.
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