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Mom witnesses shark attack daughter minutes into family vacation

Posted at 9:25 AM, Nov 02, 2015
and last updated 2015-11-02 09:25:18-05

COCO BEACH, Florida -- A Colorado family on vacation in Florida got the scare of a lifetime Sunday when a shark swam up and bit 28-year-old Jill Kruse. Kruse's mother Wanda was there and said the family was on the beach for just 10 minutes before the attack.

"She's just hurting, and you know. She's gonna heal, it's going to take a while to heal, but we are just so blessed to have her," Wanda Kruse said.

The Kruse family has other beach goers to thank for making sure Jill made it out of the water safely. Holly Peterson was in the water, near Jill, when the shark bit down on the woman's leg.

"I looked over at her and she said 'somebody help me.' I saw the fin come up and slap her in the face," Peterson said. "She said 'it got me' so I grabbed her hand and drug her back to the shore."

Witnesses put pressure on her wound until help arrived. The shark bit Jill in the calf. Family said she got stitches and may have to undergo surgery on the area where the shark bit her. She is now recovering the hospital.

In May, a 14-year-old girl was bitten by a shark along the same beach. She also survived.