Shark attack victim escapes by punching predator in gills

BOSTON — The man bitten by a shark off Cape Cod this month said Tuesday he escaped by punching the powerful predator in the gills after it clamped down on his leg.

In his first interview since the Aug. 15 attack, William Lytton said he’d been swimming in about “8 to 10 feet” of water off Truro, Mass., when he felt an incredible pain shoot through his left leg and quickly realized he was being attacked by a shark.

The 61-year-old neurologist from Scarsdale, N.Y., said he gave the animal a strong smack in the gills with his left hand, a move that likely saved his life but also resulted in some torn tendons. He now sports an arm cast as well as bandages and a brace around most of his left leg.

“I initially was terrified, but, really, there was no time to think,” he said, recounting the ordeal following a physical therapy session at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, where he's been since Sunday. “It doesn't feel like I did anything heroic. A lot of this was luck.”

Lytton said he must have recalled from nature documentaries that the gills were one of the most vulnerable parts of the shark.

After the animal broke its grip, he took a few strong stokes back to shore, where he shouted for help.

Others on the beach helped stem the bleeding and carried him up the dunes to the beach parking lot as he started to lose consciousness from the blood loss.

Lytton was airlifted to Tufts Medical Center in Boston, where he said he was placed into a two-day coma, underwent six surgeries and had 12 pints of blood pumped into him.