Oregon Surfer Attacked By Great White

This past Sunday, an Oregon surfer was attacked by a Great White shark at a popular surfing people called [redacted].

According to the New York Post:

The incident took place at about 3:20 p.m. Sunday at a well-known surfing spot in [redacted], according to The Oregonian.

“Before I knew it, I got hit really hard,” Herrington said from his bed at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, where he remained Wednesday with serious injuries to his lower left leg.

“The next thing I remember is grabbing my board.”

Herrington, an aspiring electrician, said he instantly called out for help with one thought racing through his mind: “I didn’t want to die.”

“I knew something was pretty bad,” Herrington continued. “I was just praying that it wasn’t coming back to try to bite me again, which luckily it didn’t.”

Herrington, who underwent two surgeries for his wounds, said he was about a half-mile offshore in roughly 10 feet of water when the shark pounced.

Herrington’s mother, Amy Powell, who said Cole was “still in shock” Tuesday, said one of his wounds ran from pinky toe to his heel, while a second was on his calf.

Herrington’s surfing buddies whom he met at the beach helped get him to shore, where they applied a tourniquet using a T-shirt and a stick to stanch the blood flow.

Fire and local medics arrived to find the adult male victim being carried to the parking lot by fellow surfers. An off-duty Seaside lifeguard had applied a field tourniquet to the man’s leg to help slow the bleeding.

John Rahl, a spokesman for the city of Seaside, credited the quick response of fellow surfers and said it was a valuable reminder not to go into the ocean alone.

“The fact that there were additional people on scene helped move this along pretty quickly,” said Rahl.

Sunday’s attack came nine years to the day when another surfer suffered a shark bite at [redacted]. That victim, a female, also survived with non-life-threatening injuries.

According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, which tracks shark attacks around the world, Oregon has only recorded a total of 28 shark attacks since 1837.

Florida had 852 shark attacks during that time — the most of any place in the world, according to the database.

Get better soon, Cole.