WMAR (Baltimore, Maryland) 16 July 07 Escaped Python Found Dead On Interstate (Scott Broom)
An 11-foot pet Python that escaped from its owner at an Anne Arundel County park Sunday was hit by a car Monday and killed. The snake, named "Hugo" for its huge size, was found on the shoulder of I-97 southbound, about 100 yards from the Arundel Hills Park parking lot in Ferndale where it slipped away from its owner the day before. Officials don't know who ran over the giant snake.
"I'll just have to go get a bigger one now," said Jack McKneely Jr., the snake's owner.
Hugo's weight was estimated at 35-40 pounds. The snake escaped Sunday from a plastic carrying box that was in the back of McKneely's small pick up truck. McKneely had been in the park showing friends his snake. He's left the truck unattended for a few minutes to speak with a friend. The escape touched off repeated searches by McKneely, Anne Arundel County Animal Control officers and park workers. County officials left the park open to the public because Hugo was not considered to be an agressive animal that posed a significant threat to people or pets.
"He's never tried to bite or hurt anyone," said McKneely's stepmother Beverly Hooks, who let Hugo live in a large aquarium on her back porch. "He just ate a rat Thursday, so he won't be prowling around or anything."
Hooks spoke to reporters before she heard the news that Hugo's body had been spotted on the roadside.
http://www.abc2news.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=2e86d96c-0091-44b7-9f74-3382bb5fd62b&rss=702
