A Texas woman who was bitten by a shark in South Padre Island on the Fourth of July and “nearly lost” her leg has spoken out about the horrifying incident.
Tabatha Salivent, of Celina, is recovering at a hospital in McAllen and is scheduled to undergo surgery on Tuesday, according to FOX 4.
“I turned around and saw something black in the water. I thought it was a big fish so I tried to kick it away but then the fish grabbed me,” Salivent told the station.
“The shark seemed to let me go and I was able to start swimming to shore using one leg and arm. The shark didn’t get me. Then, as I got closer to shore, people started pulling me up. My husband got to me first but the shark started chasing him so he dropped me,” she continued.
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Tabatha Salivent and her husband, Cary, are seen recovering after being attacked by a shark on the Fourth of July in South Padre Island, Texas. (Courtesy of Tabitha Salivent/FOX 4)
“I could barely move my leg,” Salivent told FOX 4. “If somebody hadn’t pulled me out, I don’t think I would have been able to move my leg.”
Salivento told the station that she and her daughter were near a sandbar when the shark attacked them, but her husband managed to fight it off.
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A shark was spotted near the coast of South Padre Island, Texas, on Thursday, July 4th. (AP/Texas Department of Public Safety)
“The shark was right there while staff were tending to her… in water probably about knee-deep,” witness Kyle Judd told local media.
FOX 4 reports that Salivent’s husband, Cary, is recovering from a shark bite on his leg and is at his wife’s bedside.
A shark was spotted near the coast of South Padre Island, Texas, on Thursday, July 4, 2024. Shark bite victim Tabatha Salivent is pictured at right. (Katie McMillan/AP/KDFW)
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“Two people were bitten and two others were involved in shark encounters but no serious injuries occurred” in last Thursday’s incident, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said in a statement.
“Shark encounters like this are not common in Texas. Shark bites are usually when a foraging shark mistakes a baitfish for a shark,” the agency added. “This is usually the case when there are large schools of bait near shore. [sic] This is an indicator that a predator is nearby. If you see a shark in the water, calmly get out of the water and wait for the predator to pass by.”
