A rare fatal rattlesnake bite has claimed the life of camper in Elk County, Penn.

Russell E. Davis, 39, died early Sunday after he was bitten during a camping trip with his girlfriend, Canada Journal reports.

The bite occurred shortly before midnight Saturday at his family’s camp in Medix Run, 125 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, according to Armstrong County Coroner Brian K. Myers.

“He went running into the camp and told his girlfriend to take him to a hospital,” Myers said.

En route, Davis developed severe breathing problems, and his girlfriend stopped at a local tavern for help. An ambulance arrived 30 minutes later and transported him to Penn Highlands Health Care, by which time he was in “acute respiratory distress,” Myers said.

Although he was given anti-venom medication, he died before he could be transported by medical helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital for additional treatment.