Georgia woman bitten on thigh by shark in shallow waters off New Smyrna Beach

Daytona Beach cam / Headline SurferNew Smyrna Beach cam / Headline Surfer
Photos for Headline Surfer / Melanie Lawson is shown on the beach after her shark bite in New Smyrna on Wednesday. Also shown ate the Volusia County beach cams for Daytona and New Smyrna on Sunday night.
By HENRY FREDERICK
Headline Surfer

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — A 51-year-old Georgia woman is recovering back home after she was bitten in the thigh by a shark on Wednesday as she swam in about 3-foot-deep water.

Melanie Lawson told Orlando television station WESH she had instructed her children not to go deeper than 3 feet as they swam off New Smyrna Beach on Wednesday. She herself then joined them when she  felt something hit her, knocking her over in the water. And then came searing pain in her thigh.

Lawson, who didn’t get a good look at the shark, was bitten shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday just north of the Flagler Avenue beach ramp, Capt. Tammy Marris said. Lawson, who lives in Marietta north of Atlanta, was taken to a hospital for treatment and released. She and her family headed home on Thursday. 

Marris said Lawson is the second shark bite victim reported this year.

Lawson, who didn’t get a good look at the shark, was bitten shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday just north of the Flagler Avenue beach ramp, Capt. Tammy Marris said. Lawson, who lives in Marietta north of Atlanta, was taken to a hospital for treatment and released. She and her family headed home on Thursday. 

Marris said Lawson is the second shark bite victim reported this year.