An 81-year-old snake enthusiast who once opened his home to television cameras for Animal Planet died on a lonely stretch of Arizona highway on August 7, 2026, after stepping out of his car to get a closer look at a snake. Ed Cassano, a Florida resident whose fascination with reptiles spanned decades, was struck by a passing vehicle and later found dead in the road.
Cassano was traveling with a friend he had known since childhood when the two pulled over along State Route 266, about 32 miles southwest of Safford, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
Three days after the crash, 57-year-old Ricky Finch of Safford, Ariz., phoned law enforcement and gave himself up. Officers took him into custody outside his Graham County home. Finch, who investigators believe was behind the wheel of a white Ford Fusion when Cassano was hit, is charged with a felony for leaving the scene of a deadly wreck.
Decades of Devotion to Dangerous Animals
National audiences met Cassano in 2010 through “Fatal Attractions,” the Animal Planet documentary series that profiled people who kept exotic and potentially deadly creatures as pets. At the time, 40 snakes lived under his roof. On camera, he described the jolt he still felt after so many years around venomous species — simply unlatching an enclosure that held one, he said, set off a surge of adrenaline.
He called himself a “herper,” slang for people who go looking for reptiles and amphibians in the wild. Every animal he acquired stayed with him until it died of old age. One ball python had been part of the household since the 1970s, a stretch of roughly five decades. His searches took him overseas as well, including trips to Costa Rica where he came across vipers in their native habitat.
Life on the Road and in the Field
The Arizona desert was a recurring destination. A single day in the field could produce photos of dozens of western diamondback rattlesnakes, and Cassano logged each one. He owned no smartphone. Instead, he carried a notebook and wrote down the GPS coordinates of every spot he explored — a habit that spoke to his scientific streak and to how seriously he took the terrain itself.
Rhett Stanberry, who removes invasive pythons and pulls venomous snakes for Florida wildlife agencies and operates a nonprofit wildlife rescue alongside his wife, met Cassano about 15 years ago. It was Cassano who helped him obtain his venomous snake handling license in Florida, taught him how to photograph animals in the field and invited him along on his first herping trip outside the state, an Arizona outing in 2013.
A Mentor’s Lasting Impact
Stanberry described the older naturalist as a best friend, a mentor and a father figure, someone who never failed to show up. “He changed the entire trajectory of my life,” Stanberry said.
Away from the field, Stanberry said, Cassano doted on his two daughters, Jeanette and Annmarie, and wore the label of proud “girl dad.” He also leaves behind a sister, Denise Gomez, and a brother, Robert Gomez. And for all the rattlesnakes in his life, it was his Airedale Terriers that Stanberry said occupied a special corner of his heart. “He was probably the single most caring and compassionate person towards wildlife that I’ve ever known in my entire life,” Stanberry said.
Preparing for the Future
Cassano had planned ahead for what would become of his animals. He left a will spelling out where each one should go, and a large share of the reptiles are set to pass to Stanberry. That handoff puts some of the biggest and most formidable venomous snakes in private hands under the care of a man Cassano trained himself — an extension of the mentorship that shaped their friendship.
Returning to the Desert
Stanberry intends to keep up the research and fieldwork his mentor set in motion, including trips back to the Arizona desert where the two spent years tracking reptiles together. Those dry expanses of the state’s southeast corner meant a great deal to Cassano, who returned again and again chasing western diamondbacks and other animals built for the punishing landscape. Going back is both a way to carry on their work and a tribute.
Cassano handled venomous animals with practiced skill for most of his life and walked away from every encounter. In the end, the danger came from an ordinary roadside moment rather than a snake cage, leaving a father, brother and teacher dead on an open highway.