Julian Enrique Hernandez, 25, was bitten Feb. 1 at Quail Hill Trailhead and died March 4 after weeks in intensive care.
IRVINE, CA — A 25-year-old Costa Mesa man died after a rattlesnake bit him while he was mountain biking on an Irvine trail, authorities and relatives said. Julian Enrique Hernandez was bitten Feb. 1 near Quail Hill Trailhead, spent more than a month in the hospital and died March 4.
His death has drawn wide attention in Orange County because fatal rattlesnake bites are rare in the United States and because his family says it still has unanswered questions about what happened after he reached the hospital. Officials have identified the death as an animal bite, while relatives have said they are seeking an independent autopsy as they try to understand the full chain of events from the trailhead emergency to Hernandez’s final days in intensive care.
Police said the bite happened at Quail Hill Trailhead near the Quail Hill Community Center at 39 Shady Canyon Drive. Hernandez was mountain biking there on Feb. 1 when the snake bit him. Accounts shared by relatives say he tried to keep moving after the bite and rode in an effort to get help before the venom overtook him. Emergency crews were dispatched to the area for a medical call, and Hernandez was taken to a nearby hospital. In the days that followed, relatives said, he remained in intensive care. Members of Eagle Scouts Troop 106 in Costa Mesa, where Hernandez had ties, said he later fell into a coma and never regained consciousness.
Authorities have publicly confirmed only part of that sequence. The Irvine Police Department said the incident took place at the Irvine trailhead on Feb. 1. The Orange County Fire Authority confirmed that crews responded to a medical emergency in the area and that the patient was transported to a hospital. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department said Hernandez died March 4, and news reports citing the county coroner said the official cause was listed as an animal bite. Officials have not publicly identified the species of rattlesnake involved, described the severity or location of the bite, or released a detailed medical timeline from the time Hernandez arrived at the hospital through the weeks that followed. Those gaps have fueled the family’s push for more information.
In a statement carried by local news outlets, Hernandez’s relatives said they had begun an independent third-party autopsy. The family did not publicly dispute that a snake bit Hernandez on the trail. Instead, their concern appeared to focus on what happened after that. In fundraising messages posted online, his brother described Hernandez as healthy and said the family had been by his side and advocating for him throughout his hospital stay. The fundraiser, first created while Hernandez was still in intensive care, later shifted toward raising money to seek answers and accountability after his death. The messages describe a family trying to process a sudden loss while also preparing for legal and medical review.
The case also stands out because deaths from venomous snake bites in the United States are uncommon. Federal health figures often cited in coverage say about 7,000 to 8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes each year, with roughly five deaths on average. Southern California hikers and cyclists encounter rattlesnakes more often as weather warms and trails grow busier, but most bites do not end in death. Quail Hill Trailhead sits in a foothill area where open space, brush and rocky ground can bring people into the same habitat as snakes. For local riders, Hernandez’s death has turned a familiar recreation spot into the setting of a tragedy that many residents had never imagined could become fatal.
Even with the basic facts established, several parts of the story remain unresolved. Public agencies have not said how long it took for Hernandez to receive advanced treatment after the bite or whether any complicating medical factors affected his recovery. They also have not released the kind of detailed incident record that could show who first reached him, what symptoms he showed at the scene, and how quickly his condition changed. Those unknowns matter because the family has made clear that it does not view the case as closed. There were no criminal allegations connected to the bite itself as of Thursday, March 12, 2026, and no public hearing had been announced. The next procedural steps are likely to center on the independent autopsy findings, any coroner follow-up, and whether the family pursues formal legal action.
Friends, troop members and relatives have used public messages to remember Hernandez as an Eagle Scout and a deeply loved son, brother, boyfriend and friend. In those tributes, he is described as someone who made people feel seen and valued. His brother wrote in one fundraising message that he loved Julian “more than anything in the world,” a short line that became one of the clearest public windows into the family’s grief. Local coverage has also carried a more restrained family statement saying the focus for now is on supporting one another through an unimaginable loss. Those remarks, brief as they are, have given the story a human center beyond the unusual medical and outdoor circumstances that first drew attention.
For now, the public record shows a young man bitten on an Irvine trail on Feb. 1, hospitalized for weeks, and dead by March 4. The next milestone is the family’s independent review of the death and any additional findings that may clarify how a rare snakebite emergency became a fatal Orange County case.
Author note: Last updated March 12, 2026.