San Diego Surfer Barely Survives Same Injury That Killed Mikala Jones (Watch)

Jade Eckardt
·2 min read
60

A San Diego woman has suffered—and survived—the same injury that killed beloved Hawaii surfer Mikala Jones in July.

According to NBC San Diego, 22-year-old Allie Brieghner was surfing at Pacific Beach about three weeks ago when her fin sliced through her thigh, severing her femoral artery.

Within 20 seconds she passed out, NBC reported. She lost three liters of blood and doctors closed the wound with 46 staples.

View the original article to see embedded media.

In the video above, Brieghner and Alec Maddox who saved her life, recall the incident. NBC reports:

"I remember coming up from the water, and then within five seconds, I felt the excruciating pain," Brieghner told NBC.

Luckily, Maddox, a former marine, saw what happened and got her to shore.

"The blood was squirting, which means it's arterial, so I had to get her out of the water as fast as I could," Maddox told NBC.

Maddox managed to make a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.

"Somebody nearby found me the surf leash, and they detached it from the surfboard, so I just wrapped it around her leg a couple of times and made a little loop because you need to put a stick through this so you can crank it, so I had somebody go grab me a stick as well," Maddox said.

He held the tourniquet in place until lifeguards and paramedics arrived.

She went to the Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla and was taken in for immediate surgery.

Doctors removed the vein from her left leg to repair the femoral artery.

As we reported in July, Jones was surfing in the Mentawai Islands of Indonesia when he suffered the same injury to his femoral artery which led to a fatal loss of blood. Jones died before reaching the hospital. He was 44 years old.

***

Don't miss another headline from SURFER! Subscribe to our newsletter, follow us on Instagram, and stay connected with the latest happenings in the world of surfing. We're always on the lookout for amusing, interesting and engaging surf-related videos to feature on our channels.

Whether you're a professional surfer or just an amateur, we want to see your best footage and help you share it with the world. Submit your video for a chance to be featured on SURFER and our social channels. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch high-quality surf videos.