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VALHALLA, N.Y. A 33-year-old White Plains woman was attacked by a raccoon while getting into her car in the Valhalla train station parking lot Tuesday evening, Mount Pleasant Police Chief Louis Alagno said.
Alagno said the woman saw the raccoon looking at her from underneath an adjacent car, and rushed to get into her own car before it could attack, but the raccoon was too fast and bit her on the ankle. Police said the raccoon bite broke the skin, the woman dialed 911 and was taken to the White Plains Hospital to be treated for rabies.
Its an unfortunate situation and its an unusual situation, Alagno said Thursday. People need to be cautious for wild animals and not go near them.
The raccoon is still on the loose.
Caren Halbfinger, a spokesperson with the Westchester County Health Department, said a raccoon attack is rare.
Its not a common attack at all which is all the more reason that this woman needs to be treated for rabies, Halbfinger said.
Halbfinger added the unusually warm weather increases the possibility of human and animal interaction.
Now that the weather has been so warm so early in the season, the animals are out and the people are out so it increases the possibility of an incident occurring, Halbfinger said.
Halbfinger advised residents to not leave food outside and to stay away from touching any wild animal.
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