Shark attack kills California man at the coast of Maui
A California man has been killed by a shark which attacked him off the coast of Maui on Saturday. The attack occurred at Honokowai Point near Ka’anapali Beach Park around 9 a.m.
According to Officials, the 65-year-old man identified as Thomas Smiley was swimming approximately 60 miles from the beach.
An eye-witness, Allison Keller, who spoke said Smiley skin was completely torn off and was unconscious after the attack.
“As we got closer, I saw some blood on his stomach and then I got looking a little bit more and his wrist, it looked like the skin on his wrist was just torn off. And then I got looking closer and his entire left leg from his knee down was just missing. There was no blood or anything”
The man’s death was the first fat shark attack in Maui since 2015. Warning signs have now been posted along the beach.
Smiley worked as an optometrist and was a resident of Sacramento. According to his friend, Dr Gary Taxera, Smiley enjoyed skiing and lived on the water. He leaves behind his wife, three children, and six grandchildren
“My hope for everyone is to have a friend as good as he is, to know a person as good as he is,”