6-Foot Snake Takes a Ride on Van's Hitch on Contractor's Evening Commute

Last week, John Gambrell of Woodstock, Ga., had an unusual hitchhiker on his evening commute home -- and he didn't even know it until a fellow commuter called it to his attention.

MyFoxAtlanta reported Tim Jones saying he saw something crawl up from the back bumper of Gambrell's contractor's van, which was ahead of him as they were driving down U.S. 92:

"I was making my normal commute from Norcross to Woodstock…and I notice some movement on the trailer hitch on the van in front of me," said Jones.

"I jumped out and flagged the driver down and said ‘You've got a big snake on your bumper! It's like a python or a boa,'" said Jones.

Watch the report:

Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5

Gambrell said he first thought someone must have pranked him with a toy snake, but soon realized that wasn't the case. Unable to remove the snake, he called animal control, which eventually was able to get the snake to come out from underneath the van. As it emerged, Gambrell was shocked the snake was more than five and a half feet long and weighed 10 pounds.

"When he pulled that thing out everybody took a step back," Gambrell said to the local ABC affiliate.

The snake is presumed to be a pet as it is not one found naturally in the wild. The snake was a red tail boa constrictor.

See more photos of the snake from Jones via MyFoxAtlanta here.