15-year-old shark bite victim speaks out

ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Fox 35 was there as 15-year-old Kelton Beardall got his ankle bandaged by his older brother as the Atlantic Beach teen recovers from a shark bite.

"It bit me, and I couldn't tell whether I stepped on a shell or something," Beardall explained. "But then after it bit me the first time, it bit me another time and the second time it bit me, it really hurt and I thought it bit my whole foot off," Beardall said.

He tells us while he was in the water at New Smyrna Beach Saturday evening, he did a trick on his surfboard and his foot came down on the shark.  He says the shark bit down on his Achilles heel and that he tried to walk back to shore, but he couldn't, so a stranger pulled him out.

"If he wasn't there, I would have just been laying there, like, screaming for somebody to come get me cause I couldn't walk and my mom's car was so far down the beach I couldn't get there," Beardall said.

Paramedics responded and Beardall was transported to the hospital.  His family is extremely thankful for the good Samaritan on the beach who helped him out.

"If it wasn't for that guy, the random dude, I'm sure my brother would have lost a lot more blood and had probably more damage cause he probably would have tried to walk on it which would caused more damage," said Adam Hansford, Kelton’s brother.

Beardall, who's been surfing for four years,  had to get stitches and won't be able to surf for at least a few months, but says he's just grateful that it wasn't worse.

"I’m just so thankful it didn't get my whole tendon and didn't get my whole foot, when I looked and saw I still had my foot I was so happy," Beardall said.

Volusia County Beach Patrol says this is the second shark bite of the year.