A North Texas woman is speaking out after she and her husband were among four people injured in a shark attack on South Padre Island during the Fourth of July holiday. Video of the incident, which spread on social media last week, revealed the woman’s severe injuries.
Tabatha Sullivent recounted the terrifying incident from her hospital bed. She and her daughter were swimming past a sandbar when a shark attacked.
“I turned around and saw something dark in the water. I thought it was a big fish, and I was going to kick it away. That’s when it grabbed me,” she recalled. “I think it let go of me, and I was able to start swimming to the beach with one leg and my arms. It didn’t grab me there. Then I got closer to the beach, and people started pulling me out. My husband had me first. But then he dropped me because the shark was in pursuit.”
The shark bit Tabatha’s left calf, causing severe injuries. “My leg is pretty much gone,” she said. “They flushed it out today. It’s all the way to the bone. It did not go through the bone.”
Her husband, Cary Sullivent, fought off the shark as it followed her into shallow water. Cary, who also sustained bites on his leg, is now by Tabatha’s bedside.
“If my husband didn’t jump into action and everyone else on the beach — if I didn’t have people pulling me out, not just to pull me out but jumping between the shark and me — I don’t think it would’ve stopped,” Tabatha expressed with gratitude.
The city of South Padre Island reported that four people were injured in the unprecedented event. The last shark bite in the area occurred five years ago.
Tabatha can wiggle her toes but is uncertain about her mobility. Her next surgery is scheduled for Tuesday.
