DENVER -- A Colorado man’s vacation in Hawaii took a terrible turn this week when he was attacked by a shark.
Dylan McWilliams, 20, was bitten by a tiger shark while surfing in Hawaii.
McWilliams received stitches and will be okay, but he could be named the most unluckiest – or luckiest –guy in Colorado.
“Yeah, this isn’t my first time being bitten,” McWilliams told Denver7 over a FaceTime call. “Last summer I was attacked by a bear in Boulder. It dragged me out of my tent by my head.”
Scripps Denver affiliate KMGH-TV spoke with McWilliams last summer following the attack. He received several scars on his head but ended up okay.
“I fought off the bear as much as I could until it dropped me and let me go,” McWilliams said.
Less than a year later, and McWilliams gets bitten by a Tiger Shark in Hawaii.
“I felt something hit my leg, and I looked down and there was a lot of blood and I saw the shark underneath me,” McWilliams said. “I started swimming as fast as I could to shore.”
McWilliams said the shark looked to be between six and eight feet long.
But the bear and shark attacks haven't been the only two times he's had a dangerous encounter with wildlife.
“When I was sixteen, I was in Utah and I was walking outside and thought I kicked a cactus and it ended up being a rattlesnake,” McWilliams said. “It bit me too.”
Denver7 reporter Tomas Hoppough jokingly told McWilliams through the FaceTime call that he is a Colorado version of Steve Irwin – the Crocodile Hunter.
“That’s funny you say that because Steve Irwin has been my hero since I was a kid,” McWilliams said. “I always wanted to be like him.”
McWilliams will need to stay out of the water during his vacation as his wound heals, but said he will be okay.
“I don’t know if I’m unlucky, or really lucky,” McWilliams said. “But my dad said I need to buy a lottery ticket or something.”
