A good samaritan who sprang into action to help save a nine-year-old girl after a shark attack in Florida is now being held by ICE agents and is at risk of being deported.
Luis Alvarez, 31, was one of several men who intervened in the incident, in Boca Grande, in which the child was attacked by a suspected Bull shark while snorkeling near to the shore.
Just days after his heroic actions, Alvarez was stopped about 1:30 a.m. on June 14 while driving without his headlights on. When asked for his license, Alvarez gave officers a picture of his Employment Authorization Card on his phone.
According to the arrest report, obtained by USA Today, he told the arresting officer in Spanish that he had been in the country for two and a half years and had never had a driver’s license.
Alvarez, who is originally from Boaco, Nicaragua, was arrested on a charge of driving without a license and issued a warning for not having his headlights on.
He is currently being held at the Collier County Jail by ICE, and may be facing deportation. He is scheduled to go before a judge on July 9, according to court records.
Though he has no history of arrest in Collier County, court documents show that Alvarez has been arrested on similar charges of not having a valid license four times in nearby Lee County, Florida.
He paid fines or had adjudication withheld by three different judges. In the most recent case, however, the judge issues a D6 suspension in June 24, meaning he had not paid his fine and was unable to apply for a license, according to USA Today.
On June 9, nine-year-old Leah Lendel was swimming near shore when she was attacked by a shark, which partially severed her hand, her mother, Nadia Lendel, told NBC Miami at the time.
"And then she flies out and like I look over, I don't know if I heard a yell or what, but she went that and I see her hand hanging, like a piece and there's blood everywhere," her mother told police through tears.
Police body camera footage captured the moments following the horrifying attack, as rescue crews and several men, including Alvarez, came to the girl’s aid.
The men wrapped the youngster’s hand in towels before she was airlifted to a hospital for emergency surgery. According to her family, the surgeons were able to fix her hand, though she will still require therapy in order for her it to function properly again.
Raynel Lugo, who also helped during the attack, told Fox4 News that Alvarez went into the water first to scare the shark.
"He jumped in that area to bring her out when I was assisting Leah," Lugo told the outlet. "He went deep underwater, not even caring about the shark. He went really deep. He probably faced the shark."
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