Shark Pulls Teen Off Surfboard In New Smyrna
Victim Reportedly Held Underwater After Bite
POSTED: 2:43 p.m. EDT April 21, 2003
UPDATED: 5:13 p.m. EDT April 21, 2003
A shark reportedly grabbed the foot of an 18-year-old former lifeguard and pulled him off his surfboard Monday off New Smyrna Beach, according to Local 6 News.
Steven Flowers (pictured, right) was surfing in the inlet when witnesses said that the shark bit his foot and then held him underwater for about three seconds.
Flowers was able to free his foot and then swam to shore, Local 6 News reported.
The teen was treated at the scene by an ambulance crew and then went to Bert Fish Medical Center for additional treatment, according to the report.
A 36-year-old man was also bitten by a shark Monday while surfing in Melbourne, Fla., according to a Local 6 News report.
Authorities said Ralph Sammis was bitten on the right calf while surfing near the 7800 block of AIA in Melbourne.
Sammis was about 75 yards off-shore when the attack occurred.
Sammis was taken to the Holmes Regional Medical Center for treatment but his condition was not known.
There have been several reported shark bites in Central Florida in recent days including an 11-year-old boy who was bitten on his left foot while body-boarding in the surf.
The boy, whose name was not released, was taken to a
local hospital for treatment, said Joe Wooden, spokesman for the
Volusia County Beach Patrol.
He was not seriously injured.
The bite is the third reported in Volusia County this year.
New Smyrna Beach is about 15 miles southeast of
Daytona Beach.
Two other people suffered minor shark bites in the past week to
the south in Brevard County. One involved a 12-year-old boy
surfing, and the other a 20-year-old man swimming.
Watch Local 6 News for the latest on this story.
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