Python Wedged Deep in Chicago Woman's Car Removed by Wildlife Expert

Mar. 15, 2025

Brad Lundsteen owner of Suburban Wildlife Control holds a four-foot-long ball python that he removed from a Toyota Crown on Oct. 2.Photo:Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com

Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com

Talk about throwing a hissy fit!

A persistent python found itself a new home in a Chicago woman’s vehicle this week — until a local wildlife expert ended up capturing it. According to theDaily Herald, the ball python first slithered its way into a local woman’s vehicle on Tuesday, Oct. 1, when it traveled from the front steps of her friend’s Geneva home to behind the tires of her Toyota Crown sedan.

While police and a local animal shelter couldn’t help, according to the outlet, the unidentified woman ended up connecting with Brad Lundsteen, owner ofSuburban Wildlife Control.

Brad Lundsteen.Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com

As he told theDaily Herald, Lundsteen has removed around a dozen snakes during his 38 years on the job. “They’re definitely not native to the area,” he said. “It’s almost always somebody’s pet that has gotten out or gotten too big. So they disposed of it.”

After searching underneath the vehicle, Lundsteen couldn’t see the snake but recognized its “really musky” smell, he told the outlet. He then encouraged the car’s owner to bring it to State Street Collision, where employees had the car lifted so he could take a closer look.

Lundsteen then reached into blindspots with his bare hands for the reptile, before the crew eventually removed the car’s rear wheels and located the snake above the axle. “I was pulling it really hard, and then it finally just popped out,” Lundsteen said, reflecting on his 30 minutes struggling with the 4-foot-long critter.

“I thought it would be twice as big. I was kind of shocked,” Lundsteen said. “I expected it to be much longer… They can get gigantic. We had one that was 16 feet long that had escaped out of an apartment building and literally coiled itself around a car.”

Brad Lundsteen (right).Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

This isn’t the first snake who thought it couldhitch a ride without permissionthis year. Back in May, Lisa Kournelis of Australia attempted to have a snake removed from her vehicle four times, before eventually deciding to coexist with the animal.

A ball python.Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com

As she told Australia’s ABC, she first spotted the reptile in April but believes it entered her vehicle at a worksite months before, prompting her to drive around with woolen work pants and other protective gear. She added that she didn’t “really have any other choice” than to continue with her life with “Fluffy” — her eventual name for the reptile friend — in her vehicle.

source: people.com