Man suspects that he accidentally killed great white shark

A man who was out with his family on his motorboat believes they may have run into and killed a great white shark that washed up in a Humboldt County beach last weekend.

Chris Justice, of Fortuna, believes a thud that shook the boat during the family's Labor Day weekend outing, lifting the outboard motor from the water, may have been the shark.

His wife, Mary Justice, who was closest to the engine, saw a pectoral fin and the shark's mouth, he said. Justice got a glimpse of the shark, estimating it was between 15 and 18 feet.

“When the shark rolled over, you could tell it was pretty big,” he said. He could also tell the shark had suffered much in the run-in with the motor.

“The pieces it had sliced off were the size of steaks,” Justice said.

When he saw pictures of the shark that washed up dead on Centerville Beach, Justice said it appeared to have wounds caused by a boat's propeller, and assumed it could have been the same animal.

“It was a pretty horrifying experience,” Justice said of the encounter.