A 24-year-old Hollywood lifeguard says years of training prepared him for a sudden rescue overseas involving his own family members.

Marcelo Lorenzo, who has worked with Hollywood Ocean Rescue for three years, was on his annual family vacation in Aruba when an excursion on the water turned dangerous. 

“We’re always training,” Lorenzo said while standing in front of his lifeguard stand on Hollywood Beach. “We’re out here just getting ready for the worst, and that’s exactly what happened.”

Cellphone video captured the moments Lorenzo’s father, aunt and cousin were riding on a raft before it crashed during the family’s weeklong trip.

Lorenzo and other family members were on a raft alongside them, with both rafts tied to a boat. 

He said the raft carrying his father, aunt and cousin slammed into a boat after their captain made a quick turn.

“When the captain of the boat cut to the left, it whipped my other family members straight directly into the boat,” Lorenzo said. “The minute I saw that, I knew I had to jump off my raft and go save them.”

Lorenzo said he reached his father first. 

“He was unresponsive underneath the boat. That’s when I grabbed him and pulled him up out of the water, and I swim him to the back side of the boat,” Lorenzo said.

But the rescue was not over.

Lorenzo said that when he reached the back of the boat, he spotted his cousin face down and unconscious in the open water.

With his father alongside him, Lorenzo said he grabbed his cousin and stabilized her head and neck. Then two workers from the catamaran helped lift her aboard before heading back toward shore, according to Lorenzo.

“I then lifted my father onto the back of the smaller boat,” Lorenzo said. “That’s where I found my aunt as well with a broken arm.”

The family vacation that began with smiles ended with several family members in the hospital.

Lorenzo said the experience left him with a new appreciation for how quickly life can change.

“Don’t take family for granted. Anything could happen,” Lorenzo said. “It could have went even worse, but thank God, everybody will be good.”

Lorenzo’s relatives remains in recovery. His father is still in Aruba awaiting hospital clearance to travel back to the United States.

Lorenzo, on the other hand, has already returned to work keeping watch over swimmers on Hollywood Beach.

His actions are also being recognized at home. The city of Hollywood plans to honor Lorenzo with a lifesaving award next Wednesday.