A Volusia County sheriff’s deputy jumped into shark‑filled water at a private marina in New Smyrna Beach on Sept. 27 to rescue 72‑year‑old Bill Von Herbulis after his electric wheelchair tipped, Fox News Digital reported.
Fox News Digital reported that deputies found Von Herbulis clinging to an electrical conduit between boat slips after his wagon of fishing gear bumped a dock box and his wheelchair jackknifed and toppled. The story said the fall happened at about 7:30 p.m., and that Von Herbulis’s cellphone went into the water.
According to a sheriff’s office incident report cited by Fox News Digital, Sgt. William Leven and Deputy Boris Rodriguez responded after an anonymous 911 caller reported a possible drowning. Bodycam footage shows Leven removing his belt and entering the water with a sheriff’s office buoy, while taking care to avoid sharp oyster shells and barnacle‑encrusted dock pilings, the report and footage show.
Leven got the buoy to Von Herbulis and retrieved a bag of the man’s belongings as it floated away. With help from bystanders, deputies lifted Von Herbulis up nearby stairs to the dock; he declined medical attention and was placed back in his electric wheelchair and returned home, Fox News Digital reported.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office posted video of the rescue on Facebook the day after the incident, and Fox News Digital reported that Sgt. William Leven is set to receive a Lifesaving Award.
Fox News Digital also reported broader shark‑attack figures cited to Tracking Sharks: as of September 2026 there had been 44 shark‑attack bites globally this year, 13 in the United States and eight fatal incidents worldwide; Tracking Sharks attributed Florida with the highest frequency of unprovoked encounters. The article cited the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History for safety recommendations such as avoiding dawn and dusk swimming and not swimming where people are fishing.
Fox News Digital quoted Von Herbulis saying he was “back the next day.”
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
