Man who rushed into water to save young girl bitten by shark is now facing deportation
BOCA GRANDE, Fla. (WBBH) – A man who is credited with saving a 9-year-old girl when she was bitten by a shark is now facing deportation.
Leah Lendel, 9, was bitten by a shark in Boca Grande, Florida, last month. Her hand was seriously injured – nearly taken off – and a group of three men ran into the bloody water to save her.
Luis Alvarez was one of those three men. He’s now facing deportation.
Raynel Lugo, another man who helped that day, said Alvarez was the first person to jump in the water to help the young girl.
“We just… we act. He’s just that kind of person,” Lugo said.
The men used a towel as a tourniquet to stop Leah’s blood loss until first responders arrived.
Body cam footage from police shows the three men, including Alvarez, standing on the beach as EMS treated Leah.
An officer can even be heard telling the men, “Good job.”
But just three days after that, deputies pulled Alvarez over for driving without headlights.
According to the arrest report, when asked for his license, Alvarez showed a photo of his work visa.
When deputies discovered that he didn’t have a driver’s license, Alvarez was arrested and taken to jail.
“From one side, he’s a hero, and now he’s a bad guy,” Lugo said. “You know, it kind of put me in shock.”
Immigration attorney Ricardo Skererett, who is not affiliated with this case, said a work visa should have sufficed as proper documentation.
“If someone with a work permit that is legally authorized to work here in the United States is stopped by police for driving without a license … I don’t know why this person is being detained by ICE if he had a work permit, unless he has a criminal background,” Skererett said.
Alvarez told the arresting officer that he had been in the U.S. for 2.5 years and never had a driver’s license.
His friend believes he deserves the chance to stay.
“I think Luis deserved a second opportunity,” Lugo said. “I think after what he went through, after what people saw in the news, that he didn’t think about it twice to save that little girl.”
Alvarez is being held at the local county jail. He has a court date set for next week.
As for Leah, surgeons were able to put her hand back together, which had been mostly torn off.
My comment:
You sure as h e el el wouldn’t see tRUMP, Vance, Rubio, Hegseth, RFK Jr or any of the rest of that worthless misadministration doing what Luis did. Deport all of them instead!
Leah Lendel, 9, was bitten by a shark in Boca Grande, Florida, last month. Her hand was seriously injured – nearly taken off – and a group of three men ran into the bloody water to save her.
Luis Alvarez was one of those three men. He’s now facing deportation.
Raynel Lugo, another man who helped that day, said Alvarez was the first person to jump in the water to help the young girl.
“We just… we act. He’s just that kind of person,” Lugo said.
The men used a towel as a tourniquet to stop Leah’s blood loss until first responders arrived.
Body cam footage from police shows the three men, including Alvarez, standing on the beach as EMS treated Leah.
An officer can even be heard telling the men, “Good job.”
But just three days after that, deputies pulled Alvarez over for driving without headlights.
According to the arrest report, when asked for his license, Alvarez showed a photo of his work visa.
When deputies discovered that he didn’t have a driver’s license, Alvarez was arrested and taken to jail.
“From one side, he’s a hero, and now he’s a bad guy,” Lugo said. “You know, it kind of put me in shock.”
Immigration attorney Ricardo Skererett, who is not affiliated with this case, said a work visa should have sufficed as proper documentation.
“If someone with a work permit that is legally authorized to work here in the United States is stopped by police for driving without a license … I don’t know why this person is being detained by ICE if he had a work permit, unless he has a criminal background,” Skererett said.
Alvarez told the arresting officer that he had been in the U.S. for 2.5 years and never had a driver’s license.
His friend believes he deserves the chance to stay.
“I think Luis deserved a second opportunity,” Lugo said. “I think after what he went through, after what people saw in the news, that he didn’t think about it twice to save that little girl.”
Alvarez is being held at the local county jail. He has a court date set for next week.
As for Leah, surgeons were able to put her hand back together, which had been mostly torn off.
My comment:
You sure as h e el el wouldn’t see tRUMP, Vance, Rubio, Hegseth, RFK Jr or any of the rest of that worthless misadministration doing what Luis did. Deport all of them instead!
