Add The New York Post on Google An 81-year-old Animal Planet star was mowed down in front of a childhood pal in a hit-and-run after pulling over to the side of a highway to look at a snake.
Floridian wildlife enthusiast Ed Cassano, who starred in the exotic pets documentary “Fatal Attractions” in 2010, was struck on the highway in rural Arizona allegedly by 57-year-old driver Ricky Finch on Aug. 7, according to the local outlet Gila Valley Central.
Cassano, a dad of two, was found dead lying in the road, while Finch allegedly fled the scene in his white Ford Fusion.
Finch, a wanted man, then called cops last Monday to turn himself in and he was arrested outside his home in Graham County, Arizona.
He has since been booked on charges of leaving the scene of an accident involving death.
Tributes have been paid to Cassano – who landed his TV break because he lived with 40 snakes.
“Even after all these years, every time I go into a venomous snake cage, there’s always a little adrenaline boost,” he said in the episode.
“You’re just inches away from death at that point, so you’re dealing with something that is dangerous on a daily basis.
“It’s very, very exciting and challenging and satisfying to try and establish a mutual trust with these animals.”
Rhett Stanbury, who knew Cassano for 15 years, said the wildlife enthusiast was “not only a best friend, he was a mentor and father figure.”
“He was one of the most dependable and loyal people I’ve ever had in my life. No matter the situation, he was someone I could always count on to be there for me,” he wrote online.
“Ed is the person who I trained under to get my venomous license here in Florida, he is the person who taught me about photography, he’s the person I called when I didn’t know how to fix something, he’s the person who took me on my first out-of-state snake hunting trip (yes snake hunting for you old timers).
“He is someone who changed the entire trajectory of my life, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without him.”
Stanbury recalled how they spent “weeks searching for rattlesnakes in the deserts of Arizona and the vipers of Costa Rica.”
“Ed was also a reptile keeper, he raised some of the largest and most impressive species of venomous snakes you would ever see and kept all of his animals for their entirety of their lives, including a normal ball python for 60 years,” he said.
“He was one of the most caring and compassionate people when it came to animals, and his most beloved were his Airedale Terriers.
“If he wasn’t such an amazing person this wouldn’t be such a hard transition to a new reality without him. I am so glad I had the time with him I did, I am glad I told him many times, how much he meant to me and how much I valued him.”
