Almost six years ago, a 13-year-old lobster diver was nearly killed by a 12-foot great white shark while diving off Beacon's Beach in Encinitas with his friend.
Keane Hayes, now 19, has a keepsake: the top portion of the wetsuit he wore at the time of the attack. It still has the holes made by the great white.
“It felt like a truck hit me," Hayes said.
Del Mar shark attack:
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He managed to swim to a nearby kayak and into the helping hands of an off-duty Oceanside police officer and lifeguard.
“I think I did a pretty good job of picking those guys,” Hayes said.
Hayes says they saved his life. They kept him calm and got him to shore quickly.
It took more than 1,000 stitches to put him back together again.
“I was really close to dying, definitely should not be alive," Hayes said.
It’s been a long road back physically and emotionally. He is reminded of that with the latest shark attack in Del Mar.
“I feel for them. I understand kind of what they are going through. Obviously, it is a very scary time, and I went through that,“ Hayes said.
Despite the near-death encounter, Hayes could not give up his true love: the ocean. He was back in it three months after the attack.
“I really like to go body surf and go hang out by the beach," Hayes said. "It’s a really like cool place, a really magical place."
He swims, surfs, lobster dives and even did a shark cage tour.
“They are peaceful creatures. They’re in the ocean just looking to get food and hang out,“ Hayes said.
His mother would say Hayes has come full circle. He is not only back in the ocean but an Encinitas lifeguard. You might have seen him at his post on Beacon’s Beach the entire Memorial Day holiday weekend.
“Wow, I made it. I conquered my beast in a way. I’m here helping the public at a beach very special to me in a place that’s very special to me,“ Hayes said.
Hayes graduated from San Marcos High School. He attends Colorado State University, where he's studying business and construction management.
