'Drunk' woman crashed car into fire station after being 'strangled by snake she stole from pet shop'

Sarah Espinosa, of Albany, US, is charged with reckless endangerment, theft, reckless driving, driving while intoxicated and unlawful possession of marijuana

Wrapped: Ball pythons kill by squeezing prey to death

A driver was arrested amid claims she crashed a car into a fire station while being strangled by a snake she had just stolen.

Sarah Espinosa, from Albany, US, is believed to have lost control of her Toyota Prius after the two-foot ball python had wrapped itself around her neck.

The 22-year-old's car collided with a Nissan Maxima at New Hyde Park before smashing through the main door at Nassau County Fire Station and hitting two fire engines inside.

Firefighters on the scene freed the terrified motorist from the constrictor, which police claimed was stolen from a pet shop shortly before the incident at 7pm on Monday.

New Hyde Park fire chief Steven Waldron said it was one of the weirdest incidents he had ever seen.

Espinosa, who was uninjured in the incident, was charged with reckless endangerment, theft, reckless driving, driving while intoxicated and unlawful possession of marijuana.

She pleaded not guilty and is due back in court on August 8.

The snake, which was worth $90 (£54), was returned to the pet shop.

Ball pythons can grow up to five feet long and kill by wrapping their bodies around prey such as mice and rats before squeezing it to death, commonly known as constricting.