SoCal woman attacked by shark in Maui: ‘I didn’t see him coming’

A Southern California woman is back at home recovering after she was attacked by a tiger shark in Hawaii.

Evonne Cashman, 56, of Cerritos, was snorkeling off a beach in Wailea on the island of Maui last week when she suddenly felt something sharp and strong grab her, she said Wednesday.

“I must have had my hands up in front of my face. I think my head was above water, if I remember correctly,” Cashman said. “I don’t know because it happened so fast. I didn’t see him coming. I didn’t see him leave.”

The shark’s sharp teeth gashed her chin, her hands and her back.

“I saw my hands bleeding, I knew my back was not in good shape,” Cashman said.

“Then I just started swimming and swimming. I knew I needed to get help as fast as I could,” she said.

The retired teacher finally reached other snorkelers, who pulled her to shore and put pressure on her wounds until an ambulance arrived.

Experts estimated the tiger shark was about 12 feet long, but the doctor who performed Cashman’s surgery thinks it was twice that big.

Asked if she would go snorkeling again, Cashman said yes.

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