Updated

Updated · Fox News · Oct 11

Florida Deputy Rescues 72-Year-Old Man From Shark-Filled Water, Earning Lifesaving Award

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Oct 11

Florida Deputy Rescues 72-Year-Old Man From Shark-Filled Water, Earning Lifesaving Award

Q: What hidden marina hazard almost cost a disabled fisherman his life before a heroic rescue in shark-filled waters?

The near-fatal hazard was the marina’s hidden dock obstruction: Von Herbulis’ gear cart struck a dock box, tipping his wheelchair and throwing him into the water. Once he fell in, other marina dangers made the situation far worse. He was trapped in dark water behind a locked gate, clinging to an electrical conduit pipe to keep his head above water as the tide moved around sharp oyster shells, barnacle-covered pilings and strong inlet conditions near Ponce de Leon Inlet. Those hazards are what Sgt. William Leven had to enter when he jumped in with a rescue buoy. Authorities said he navigated the shark-filled water and the jagged dock structures to reach the 72-year-old and help pull him back to safety. So the key hidden marina hazard that triggered the emergency was the dock box that his cart hit, while the broader life-threatening danger came from the slippery, obstructed marina environment and changing water conditions that left him stranded in the water after dark.

1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 11

Volusia County Sgt. William Leven is set to receive a Lifesaving Award after bodycam showed him jumping into dark water off New Smyrna Beach on Sept. 27 to save 72-year-old Bill Von Herbulis.
Around 7:30 p.m., Von Herbulis fell from a private dock when his gear wagon hit a dock box and jackknifed his electric wheelchair, leaving him clinging to a conduit pipe after his phone dropped into the water.
By about 9 p.m., deputies found him struggling to keep his head above water; Leven entered with a buoy, avoided oyster shells and barnacle-covered pylons, and bystanders helped pull him up nearby stairs.
The rescue unfolded at dusk in waters near Ponce de Leon Inlet, where shark risk is a known hazard; New Smyrna Beach saw a shark bite in September, and Florida leads the U.S. in unprovoked shark encounters.
Von Herbulis, paralyzed after a neck injury 19 years ago, declined medical treatment and said he was back fishing the next day.