A surfer narrowly avoided serious harm after a shark threw him off his board in a sneak attack off the coast of Northern California. Emergency crews responded to the scene north of the Gualala River along the Mendocino County coastline after reports of a shark encounter in the water, according to local officials. The surfer, identified in local reports as 26-year-old Tommy Civik, suffered puncture wounds but was able to reach shore and seek medical care on his own. The incident occurred around 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, South Coast Fire Chief Jason Warner told the San Francisco Chronicle. Civik was left with only half of his surfboard and later went to a local hospital for stitches. He had been surfing for less than 10 minutes and was about 150 feet from shore when the attack happened, the San Francisco Chronicle and The Mercury News reported. A friend told authorities that Civik was struck and thrown into the air by a shark, which then bit his board in half before swimming away. “It was like being hit by a car,” Civik told SFGATE. “All of a sudden, I was shot out of the water.” He said three teeth marks on his upper left thigh caused puncture wounds and shredded his wetsuit.
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