Florida teen almost loses his arm when he’s mauled by shark while surfing at Orlando beach
A teenager almost lost his arm when he was suddenly mauled by a shark as he reached for his surfboard.
Teddy Wittemann, 16, was surfing at Melbourne Beach, near Orlando, when a swell knocked him off his board and tried to grab it.
“I was surfing with my friend Baylor and after a wave I wanted to grab my board and go back out,” he said.
“The shark bit around the inside of my elbow and forearm and held on as it swung around for a second.”
Teddy Wittemann, 16, was surfing at Melbourne Beach, near Orlando, when he was mauled by a shark. Dave Crespi tied his shirt above the wound like a tourniquet
Teddy was treated at the scene by paramedics and then taken to Holmes Regional Medical Center
Teddy said he saw the predator, which he believes was at least five feet long and likely a tiger shark, along the side of his body before it chewed on his arm.
He said he probably thought his limb was a fish and let it go when it didn’t taste like he expected after removing a piece of his left arm.
Still 60 meters from safety, Teddy had to swim back to shore with his mangled arm, screaming for help and knowing his blood could attract more sharks.
“Luckily Dave Crespi was at the beach with his wife [Toie] as I signaled them for help,” he said.
‘Super grateful to all the first responders who were able to be there for me during all of this.’
Crespi tied his shirt like a tourniquet over the wound while Toie called 911 and another neighbor driving by let him use their phone to call his parents.
Teddy said he saw the predator, a five-foot tiger shark, along the side of his body as it chewed on his arm
He said he probably thought his limb was a fish and let it go when it didn’t taste like he expected after removing a piece of his left arm.
Luckily there was no major damage and he escaped with 30 stitches and was sent home after two days to recover with a plaster cast for the next month.
Teddy was treated at the scene by paramedics and then taken to Holmes Regional Medical Center.
Fortunately there was no major damage and he escaped with 30 stitches and was sent home after two days to recover with a cast on his arm for the next month.
‘I leave the hospital with no damage to the tendons or ligaments. “I felt so blessed that it wasn’t worse,” he said.
Teddy, who is on the USA Junior Surfing U16 Boys Team, planned to return to surfing once his doctor’s order of six weeks of rest was over.
He competes in the USA Surfing Prime series and hopes to one day qualify for the International Surfing Association World Junior Games.