Hero deputy rescues wheelchair-bound grandfather who fell into shark-infested waterway
At 72, Bill Von Herbulis doesn’t let life in a wheelchair keep him from fishing and working his crab traps daily at the marina near his Florida home.
But on Sept. 27, it was Von Herbulis who became the catch of the day.
Now Sgt. William Leven is set to receive a Lifesaving Award for jumping into the shark-filled water at feeding time and hoisting him over sharp oyster shells and barnacle-encrusted dock pylons to safety.
CRUISE PASSENGER HAILED AS HERO AFTER JUMPING INTO WATER TO SAVE 84-YEAR-OLD MAN
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office posted a video of the rescue the next day on Facebook, praising their quick-acting sergeant.
And as for fishing, Von Herbulis said, "I was back the next day."
"He doesn’t miss," his wife, Lori Von Herbulis, laughed.
As he does every day, Von Herbulis set out for the marina in his condominium community in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
He motored along in his electric wheelchair, pulling beside him a wagon stuffed with fishing and crabbing gear. He toted his equipment to a narrow private dock near Ponce de Leon Inlet, which sits at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.
His wife of 41 years had gone out for the evening. But he usually fishes solo anyway.
At the dock, he pushed the cart with his fishing poles and tackle box ahead of his wheelchair, out past the boat slips to his favorite fishing spot.
It wasn’t a memorable evening of fishing. And as the sun dipped, he packed his gear to go back home.
For his safety, the former water treatment plant operator isn’t supposed to be on the dock after dark.
And on this night, the dock was unusually vacant. Normally, other anglers would be casting their lines, and people would be strolling, admiring the sunset, he said.
But this night, he was all alone with the lapping waves and rising tide.
BEACH HERO JUMPS INTO THE WATER AFTER SPOTTING 3 GIRLS IN DANGER OF DROWNING
At about 7:30 p.m., he was rumbling over the planks toward home when his wagon of gear bumped into a dock box and jackknifed.
The jostled wheelchair toppled over.
SHARK WEEK DANGERS HIT HOME AS MAN IS BADLY BITTEN WHILE SAVING PREGNANT FIANCÉE FROM HARM
Von Herbulis tumbled into the water.
His cellphone, his lifeline to support, went, too.
Von Herbulis stayed calm.
"I looked up and swam up to the surface of the water," he said.
Because it was high tide, he was able to reach up and grasp an electrical conduit pipe jutting between boat slips. At low tide, it would have been 4-6 feet out of reach, Lori Von Herbulis told Fox News Digital.
It "was the closest thing that didn't have barnacles or oysters on it," her husband said.
"Help!" he called out. But no one came.
About every 30 seconds, he cried out, "hollering for help," he said.
He knew his wife would come looking for him when she arrived back home and didn’t find him there.
"I'm thinking, Am I gonna have to wait here all night?"
Finally, a just-arriving angler heard splashing and saw Von Herbulis clinging to the pipe. But a locked gate on the dock prevented him from getting close.
"We don't think he belonged there—not that we care, because he was our angel," Lori Von Herbulis said. "But he didn't have a key to get in."
The man called 911 anonymously to report a "possible drowning," sheriff’s office records show.
At about 9 p.m., Leven and his partner, Deputy Boris Rodriguez, raced to the private marina at the Minorca condominium community.
They found the overturned wheelchair and saw Von Herbulis "struggling to keep his head above water," a sheriff’s office incident report shows.
Bodycam footage shows Leven shedding the belt holding his gun holster before getting into the water with a sheriff’s office buoy. Careful to avoid the sharp oyster shells below and razor-like edges of barnacles on the dock pylons all around, Leven got the buoy to Von Herbulis. And he snatched a bag of Von Herbulis’s belongings as it floated away.
With the help of bystanders, the deputies got Von Herbulis up the nearby stairs from the water to the dock. Von Herbulis, who can’t stand or walk since breaking his neck 19 years ago, declined medical attention.
They got him back into his electric wheelchair, and he motored home with a grateful heart.
As of September 2026, there have been 44 shark attack bites globally this year, according to data from Tracking Sharks, an organization that publishes records on shark incidents. In 11 of the attacks, the sharks were said to have been "provoked," according to the organization. Eight of the attacks this year have been fatal.
There have been 13 shark attack bites in the United States this year, according to the organization. None have been fatal.
Florida leads as the U.S. state with the "highest frequency of unprovoked shark encounters," the organization’s website states.
In September, a surfer was bitten on the foot by a shark in New Smyrna Beach, not far from where Von Herbulis was rescued.
One of the best ways to avoid being bitten by a shark is to stay out of the water at dawn or dusk, according to experts with the International Shark Attack File. The scientific project is part of the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
It’s also important to swim with a buddy, avoid swimming where people are fishing, and avoid splashing, the scientific group warns on its website.
Von Herbulis inadvertently broke those rules, putting him at increased risk.
But there are ways to reduce risk if a shark approaches, scientists advise on the project website.
"Maintain eye contact with the shark," a tip list advises. "Slowly move away, and if possible, exit the water."
And "if the shark tries to bite you," the page advises, "hit the shark in the eyes and gills, sensitive areas that can be hurt, regardless of personal strength."
Another recommended tactic: "Hit the shark on the snout and push away. Water-resistance weakens your punch."
At his fishing spot, Von Herbulis often catches sharks, once one about seven feet long, he said. And they often snatch half the redfish or snook he’s caught as he reels in his catch.
He’s fallen in twice before. His wife doesn’t go with him, she said, because she fears witnessing that.
But Von Herbulis, also an avid hunter, shrugs off the danger he faced in the dark water alone.
He avoided injury on the sharp barnacles and oysters, because he "made a clean dive in the water," he joked.
And "there's obviously sharks in that water," the grandfather of six said with a chuckle.
"But they didn't want me."