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Costa Mesa mountain biker, 25, dies a month after rattlesnake bite on Irvine trail

March 13, 2026

A 25-year-old man died about a month after a rattlesnake bit him while he was mountain biking on an Irvine trail in February, his family said.

Julian Enrique Hernandez of Costa Mesa died on March 4, according to the Orange County Coroner. He was bitten near Quail Head Community Center, the start of an approximately two-mile trail, according to the Orange County Coroner.

A crew responded to the center just before 11 a.m. on Feb. 1, said Capt. Greg Barta with the Orange County Fire Authority. Hernandez was treated for the bite and hospitalized, Barta said.

In a GoFundMe that has raised nearly $20,000 as of Thursday to cover the cost of hospital fees, memorial services and other expenses following Hernandez’s death, his family said they advocated for him throughout his recovery process in the hospital.

Hernandez’s family told CBS LA in a statement that they’ve started the process to conduct an independent autopsy.

“We will pursue the truth about what happened to Julian and we will stand up for him,” his family wrote on GoFundMe. “This is not about anger. This is about accountability. This is about making sure the next family that walks through those doors doesn’t live our nightmare.”

The family could not be reached for additional information on Thursday.

Venomous snakes bite between 7,000 to 8,000 people each year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but only about five people die from the bites annually.

Recent warm weather means snakes may be more active, said Dr. William Woo, a family medicine physician with Kaiser Permanente Orange County.

“This is exactly when the snakes start to come out,” Woo said, “and they’ll be out through the warm season of the summer.”

Anyone going hiking or doing other outdoor activities should pay attention to their surroundings and consider wearing pants, long sleeves and other clothes that could help mitigate the severity of a bite, Woo said. If you run into a snake along your path, Woo said it’s best to avoid the area.

In the last year, Woo said he’s treated one snake bite – a man bent down to tie his shoe while hiking and a rattlesnake jumped out of a bush and bit his pinky finger.

Woo recommended that anyone who is bitten by a snake call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room as quickly as possible.

Symptoms of a snake bite can progress suddenly and rapidly, said Dr. Melissa Rudolph, an emergency medicine physician at Providence St. Joseph Hospital Orange. Someone may have no symptoms immediately after the bite, but the victim may later experience pain, muscle spasms, trouble breathing and changes in blood pressure and heart rate similar to an allergic reaction.

If possible, Woo said, wash the wound with warm water and soap before emergency responders arrive, but other methods many people try, like sucking out the venom or putting a tourniquet on the wound, could worsen the bite and cause infection. It’s also important to stay calm and slow your breathing and heart rate, which in turn can help slow the spread of venom through your body.

It’s also important to try to remember any characteristics of the snake, including its coloring, that could help doctors and toxicologists know how to treat the bite, Rudolph said.

Orange County Register

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Costa Mesa mountain biker, 25, dies a month after rattlesnake bite on Irvine trail

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