Unsuspecting dog walker dies after being bitten by copperhead snake

Oliver Baker, 52, was walking his dog in Tuscaloosa last week when he was attacked by the snake near the back door of the family's vacation home, WIAT-TV reported.

Baker's brother, Reb Baker, told the news station that the victim went into cardiac arrest after the bite, but was stabilized at a local medical facility before he was airlifted to Huntsville Hospital.

Doctors were unable to save Baker, who died Monday.

Baker leaves behind a wife and two children.

Copperheads are pit vipers and are found across the South, in parts of the Midwest and Northeast. They prefer wooded areas but can be found under rocks and near streams. They have favorite hiding places, according to the website Copperhead-snakes.com, including stone walls, sawdust, garden mulch, compost piles, decaying stumps, wood piles, abandoned buildings and large, flat stones.

The snakes account for the highest number of snake bites in the United States every year, and while dangerous, their bites are usually not deadly.