Marietta Woman Bitten By Shark In Florida

NORTH COBB, GA -- Melanie Lawson of Marietta was raised by the water in California, but that didn't stop her from fearing for her life recently when she was bitten by a shark while in New Smyrna Beach.

Lawson, 51, was in the midst of a multi-day getaway and had warned her children not to go into deep waters. But on the last day of the vacation, she ventured out into 4 feet of water.

“I felt something cruise against my leg and it turned around and I felt pain. He probably could have taken me down, but there's no way because I would have fought for my life,” Lawson told WAGA-TV.

Lawson's daughter Lauren told the TV station that the next thing she knew, her mom was "covered in blood" running and yelling for help.

“She grew up on the water in California, I thought she'd be fine swimming. I didn't know where she was, then I saw her on the shore and she was covered in blood,” Lauren said.

Although Lawson's injuries (bruises and a puncture to her thigh) were non-life threatening, she was taken to the hospital, where medical staff removed a shark tooth from her leg.

Volusia beach safety spokesman Deputy Chief Aaron Jenkins told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that they have not identified what kind of shark bit Lawson. Bullsharks, shovelheads and blacktips are common in the vicinity, he said.

She is the second shark bite victim in Volusia County, this year, according to the AJC.

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