911 Call: Sarasota (FL) Shark Bite Victim was ‘Bleeding to Death’

Laura Finaldi Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Fla. (MCT) Dec. 17—The victim of a Tuesday morning shark bite has been identified as a 39-year-old man whose arm and hand were bitten while he was swimming off of Siesta Key. A female caller told a 911 operator that the victim was swimming off Siesta Key when he was bitten. He walked home afterward, but bled profusely in the house after he got back. The caller told the dispatcher that the victim was alert but “bleeding to death.” The dispatcher explained to the caller and another person present how to stop the bleeding until paramedics arrived. The female caller said the victim appeared pale as they waited about 10 minutes for help, according to the call, which was placed at 8:24 a.m. Sarasota County Fire Assistant Chief Carson Sanders said the medic was dispatched at 8:27 a.m. from 5.2 miles away and was on scene at 8:35 a.m. “When the medic unit arrived on scene, they called for a rescue unit (ambulance). Rescue 13 (Siesta Key) was dispatched and arrived within 4 minutes,” Sanders said. The victim was then taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital. The hospital confirmed to the Herald-Tribune on Tuesday that the patient was being treated for a shark bite, but hospital spokeswoman Kim Savage declined to provide further details Wednesday, citing patient privacy laws. While such events are definitely scary, data show that being bitten by a shark on Siesta Key is a very rare occurrence. ...
Source: JEMS Special Topics - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Communications & Dispatch Industry News Trauma Florida Stop the Bleed Source Type: news