GRAPHIC: Hawk drops snake on woman; both animals attack her

SILSBEE, Texas (KFDM) - A Texas woman survived a true nightmare after she says a hawk swooped down and attacked her while she was trying to fend off a snake.

Peggy Jones was mowing the back six acres of her home in Silsbee last Tuesday when a snake fell down on her from above.

“He was starting to dart at my face and come into my face, and he was striking my glasses. He just kept on and kept on, and I just couldn’t get rid of the snake… I think I went into survival mode,” Jones said.

As much as she tried to remove it, Jones says the snake’s grip just became tighter and tighter. She says a hawk then came down and pulled the snake from her arm, leaving her with severe cuts.

“The hawk came down four times to get the snake off of my arm. When I looked down, I had blood all over my clothes and arm. My arm was torn to shreds, and I had severe bruising,” Jones said.

She describes the entire ordeal as traumatizing.

“My husband was at the front of the property, and I was screaming. I knew he couldn’t hear me. And the only thing I could think of was just to call on Jesus’ name to come and help me,” Jones said.

Thankfully, Jones’ husband did hear her screams and rushed her to the emergency room. She was given antibiotics, and it was determined she hadn’t been bitten by the snake, despite it doing damage to her glasses.

Her arm had so many puncture wounds that Jones’ doctors insisted on monitoring her because they couldn’t initially tell if they had come from the hawk or the snake.

Jones’ arm is now healing, but she says her emotional scars will need to heal, too.

“You try to sleep at night, [but] you can’t sleep. You’re afraid to shut your eyes because you know if you shut your eyes and go to sleep, then you’re gonna have a nightmare and relive this situation,” she said.

But she is amazed at the outpouring of support after the attack and says her view of life has changed.

“I’m happy I’m alive. I’m happy I’m here. My family didn’t ever mean less to me. They just mean more to me now than before because it showed me how in the blink of an eye, things can change. I feel differently about life now. I’m just so blessed,” Jones said.