Boa constrictor makes home in Antioch truck

Daniel Fiocchi of Antioch said he expected to find a rope lodged underneath his pickup truck when told by a passing motorist something was hanging from the vehicle frame early Tuesday morning.

He was very wrong.

"When the guy said that I had a snake or something underneath my truck, I thought it was a rope or maybe a garden snake or something," he said. "I couldn't believe it when I saw it."

After popping the back of the truck off the frame, Fiocchi saw a four-foot boa constrictor staring back at him at just after 7 a.m. on Grass Lake Road in Lake Villa.

"Now, I'm no fan of snakes," he said about five hours after the reptile was removed. "I didn't want to touch it or let it go free over there (near Lakes Community High School in Lake Villa), so I called police."

Two squad cars were sent to Grass Lake and Deep Lake roads, and officers were floored to see the boa peeking out at them, said Lake Villa Deputy Chief Roger Schroeder.

"They didn't know what to do at first," he said. "We had to get it out, so we scared it as best we could, and it slithered out."

He said officers banged on the pipe and used a stick to lightly nudge the snake into the waiting hands of Officer Rick Tippet. The snake was taken to the police station and kept in a box.

"We think it was either abandoned or escaped from a home near where Fiocchi lives in Antioch," Schroeder said. "It's a very docile snake. It never tried to bite any of the officers or anything."

He said the snake was eventually taken to a reptile caretaker in Lake County, who will look after it until an owner comes forward or a home is found for it.

"We're hoping the owner comes forward and claims it," Schroeder said. "But, if not, then we'll find a good home for it. It's healthy - a little old, but healthy nonetheless."