Girl, 9, survives shark bite off Florida coast
A 9-year-old girl had her hand nearly severed during a shark encounter while snokeling off a Florida beach.
A man who ran into the water to help a 9-year-old girl after she was bitten by a shark in Florida may be facing deportation after he was arrested and accused of driving without a license days after the attack.
Luis Alvarez, 31, of Lehigh Acres in Lee County, Florida, about 140 miles northwest of Miami, was stopped about 1:30 a.m. on June 14 after police say he was driving without his headlights on.
He was driving a gray SUV with a Rhode Island tag, according to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
Court records indicate he is being held in jail by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to reporting from the Fort Myers News-Press, part of the USA TODAY Network. He is scheduled to go before a judge on July 9.
USA TODAY has reached out to ICE for more information.
Why was Alvarez arrested?
On the day of the arrest, at around 1:30 a.m. local time, police say Alvarez was driving a car without its headlights on when he was pulled over.
When asked for his license, Alvarez called up a picture of his Employment Authorization Card on his phone. He told the arresting officer in Spanish that he had been in the country for 2½ years and had never had a driver’s license, according to the arrest report.
Alvarez was arrested on a charge of driving without a license and was issued a warning for not having his headlights on.
The arrest report said Alvarez is from Boaco, Nicaragua.
Alvarez also had been arrested in different Florida county
Court records indicate Alvarez has no arrest history in Collier County. He was arrested on similar charges of not having a valid driver’s license four times in Lee County dating back to December 2023. Lee County is in southwest Florida along the Gulf Coast.
He paid fines or had adjudication withheld by three different judges. In the most recent case, the judge issued a D6 suspension on June 23, meaning that because Alvarez had not paid his fine, he was unable to apply for a license.
Alvarez ran in to help girl attacked by shark
Alvarez was on the beach June 11 and ran into the water to help when Leah Lendel, 9, was bitten by a shark.
Leah’s hand was nearly severed in the attack, which happened a few feet off the beach in Boca Grande, Florida.
Fast action at the scene and an airlift to Tampa General Hospital allowed surgeons to reattach her hand. She is recovering.
Alvarez went into the water first to scare the shark, her sister Raynel Lugo, who also helped during the rescue, said in an interview with Fox4 News.
“He jumped in that area to bring her out when I was assisting Leah,” Raynel said in the Fox4 interview. “He went deep underwater, not even caring about the shark. He went really deep. He probably faced the shark.”
Body camera footage from a Lee County Sheriff’s Office Deputy who responded to the call shows three men standing next to the water as Leah was being treated by EMS.
Alvarez, through an interpreter, told first responders the shark looked to be about 8 feet long. Experts later said it may have been a bull shark, one of the more aggressive sharks in Florida waters.
Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. Connect with her on LinkedIn, X, Instagram and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@gannett.com
