Local Doctor Killed In Hawaii Shark Attack
MAUI (CBS13/CNN) — A Granite Bay man is dead after a shark attack in Maui.
It is only the fifth recorded deadly shark attack in Hawaii's history.
Friends say Doctor Thomas Smiley was a long-time local optometrist, and a big family man.
The 65-year-old had just retired this year.
Smiley was swimming 60 yards off the coast of Kaanapali State Park in Maui Saturday when the shark attacked.
Video shows first responders on jet skis bringing him back to shore after the attack.
"They pulled the man up. He looked unconscious when they transferred him to the other gurney. And we could see that they were trying to do CPR on him," said witness Allison Keller.
Friends say Maui was a regular vacation spot for Smiley.
He and his wife had reportedly been here for two weeks prior to the attack.
Smiley lived in Granite Bay, where friends describe him as an avid waterskier, scuba diver, and race car driver.
Above all, they say he loved spending time with his family.
Now, as his loved ones mourn his loss, investigators will be working to learn more about the type of shark, that attacked him.
"The bite radius and the tooth pattern and sometimes a tooth fragment is left in the victim, like in the bone or something, and so, a tooth fragment is the surest way, but also the bite radius, if it's a very big bite radius, then it rules out a lot of other species of sharks, like Galapagos shark. Tiger shark, of course, is the number one that comes to my mind for a fatal attack" said Michael Domeier, Director of the Marine Conservation Science Institute.
Doctor Thomas Smiley leaves behind a wife, three children, and 6 grandchildren.