Man bitten by snake on Alligator Alley thought he was going to die

Ryan Toogood bitten by water moccasin after stopping to look at alligator

WESTON, Fla. – A man who was bitten by a snake after he pulled over on the side of Alligator Alley to look at an alligator said Monday he thought he was going to die.

"It really doesn't look like much, but it was really intense pain," Ryan Toogood told Local 10's Jason Martinez.

Toogood said he was bitten by a water moccasin Saturday night after he and girlfriend Kate Walsh stopped at a rest stop on Alligator Alley.

"I took a walk of maybe about 25 steps to stretch my legs," Toogood said. "I felt a terrible pain in my foot. I looked down and there was a hissing snake at my feet."

Toogood said he didn't know how serious it was until paramedics arrived.

"I was under the impression that I was going to get a Band-Aid and a pat on the back," he said.

Instead, Toogood was airlifted to the Cleveland Clinic, where he spent two nights receiving intense antivenin treatments.

Toogood, who is diabetic, has circulation issues and was afraid he might lose his foot.

With all his toes intact, the attorney is ready to return to work.

"I'm going to sue the snake," Toogood joked. "No hard feelings. The snake lives there. I don't."