Loose ‘windshield wiper’ was really snake slithering from Texas man’s car, photos show

A Texas man was on his way back from filling up on gas and grabbing a Monster energy drink when he thought one of his windshield wipers was coming off.

But this wasn’t a loose car part — it was a slithering, stowaway snake.

Enzo Sanchez told McClatchy News he was driving from the gas station back to his parent’s house at about 11 a.m. Friday when he noticed a movement right before his eyes.

“I thought my windshield wiper went loose and didn’t pay much attention at first,” he said. “Then I looked again and I was like, ‘oh man, that’s a snake.’”

At first, the unexpected moment in Lockhart, Texas felt surreal.

“Is this really happening,” Sanchez asked himself. “I sure wasn’t expecting a snake.”

The snake was slithering out of the car hood where the windshield wiper would be, close to where Texas drivers place windshield registration stickers.

“Luckily for me, while I’m not used to seeing snakes, they are not new to me,” Sanchez said. He grew up in the Texas town, about an hour northeast of San Antonio, before moving away.

Still, he said he knew he needed to be careful and tried controlling his initial reactions.

He slowed down slightly and tried to remain calm while driving on a busy road filled with Friday lunchtime traffic. He knew he shouldn’t swerve or slam on his brakes.

“I was not going to hold up traffic to wrestle a snake,” Sanchez said.

Instead, he rolled up his windows to make himself feel safer before assessing the snake situation.

While thinking to himself, he realized pulling over wouldn’t do much good because he was not going to touch the snake.

“I don’t feel like getting bit today,” he remembers thinking to himself. “I can’t afford to be going to the ER.”

So, he kept driving and remained focused on the road even as he noticed the snake continuing to slide up his car. The snake appeared to be at least 3 feet long, he said.

The snake continued slithering on his windshield until “it eventually flew off,” Sanchez said.

“I did go back on the road later that day and didn’t see a carcass, so it probably got away,” he said.

This story was originally published August 24, 2021 at 11:49 AM with the headline "Loose ‘windshield wiper’ was really snake slithering from Texas man’s car, photos show."