A rookie lifeguard rescued a young boy from intense waves at Seabright State Beach in Santa Cruz on Saturday.
Scott Vander Dussen/Instagram @ santacruznow
The father of a 10-year-old Dallas boy who was rescued last weekend from a turbulent and violent California surf said Wednesday his son is lucky to be alive and survived only through the heroic efforts of a teenage lifeguard who held on to the boy as powerful waves repeatedly submerged them.
Sumit Rai said he is “beyond grateful and indebted to” the lifeguard, who has been identified by state parks officials as Ryder Williams.
“Absent Ryder’s courage and heroism, my son would not be alive,” Rai said.
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Rai said he was not at Seabright State Beach in Santa Cruz on Saturday, July 25, when his 10-year-old son became trapped in the surf. The boy was visiting California with his mother and his 8-year-old sister at the time of the incident, Rai said.
Video of Santa Cruz lifeguard Ryder Williams saving Dallas boy goes viral
Video recorded by photographer Scott Vander Dussen shows the 16-year-old lifeguard running into the water and reaching the boy as violent waves pulled him farther from shore.
Williams held tightly to the child as the surf repeatedly knocked them underwater. A second lifeguard eventually reached the pair, and beachgoers formed a human chain to help bring them ashore.
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The California Department of Parks and Recreation described Williams as a rookie lifeguard who was working at Tower 2 and making safety contacts throughout the day because of the heavy surf and large crowds.
The agency said Williams was unavailable for an interview but released a written statement Wednesday night from him describing the rescue.
Williams said he was near the waterline making a safety contact when he saw the boy lose his footing in ankle-deep water about 20 yards from his tower. He radioed the emergency, dropped his radio and sunglasses and ran toward the child.
He said he entered the water with his rescue buoy but was unable to secure the boy because of the volatile conditions. After the first wave struck, Williams said, he could not pull the boy from the water because the child was limp and the surf was pushing too forcefully.
“There were two to three more waves before lifeguard Aaron Bohnen entered the water to help me,” Williams said.
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Williams said he and Bohnen brought the child ashore and assessed him before Williams returned to his tower for the remainder of his shift.
Dallas father praises teen lifeguard after California beach rescue
“I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to return the child to his family safely,” Williams said. “This is my job and I love what I do. I’m thankful to my fellow lifeguards who perform rescues just like this every day.”
Rai said his son told him about the rescue several hours later. The boy told him he thought he was going to die.
“I didn’t sleep for nights,” Rai said. “All I could think about after watching that was, what if it had gone differently by a couple of seconds?”
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California State Parks said a high surf advisory was in effect in Santa Cruz County that day. Seabright State Beach has a relatively steep shoreline where heavy surf breaks close to shore, a condition known as shore break.
The agency said the beach was experiencing consistent 4- to 6-foot waves, with some reaching an estimated 10 feet, because of the direction of the swell and the underwater contours of the beach.
Vander Dussen said he first noticed the boy’s dark hair amid a blanket of white foam as waves pulled him away from shore. He and a beachgoer alerted a nearby lifeguard, who radioed the tower closest to the boy.
Dangerous Santa Cruz surf nearly drowns Dallas boy before lifeguard rescue
Williams was already running toward the water when Vander Dussen began recording.
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“I thought this was just going to be another cool picture of a lifeguard running,” Vander Dussen said. “When I recognized that the waves were so intense, that’s when I changed it to video mode.”
Vander Dussen, who said he has spent about five years photographing Santa Cruz lifeguards and has witnessed numerous rescues, said none was as dramatic as Saturday’s.
Conditions changed quickly, driving nearly everyone else from the water. At one point, Vander Dussen said Ryder and the boy appeared to be the only people in the ocean.
“The balance between success and failure was just degrees of separation,” he said. “Had it not been for the vigilance of Ryder and his tremendous grip on this young victim, I’m certain this young boy would not have gone home.”
The video shows rescuers carrying the boy toward shore. Vander Dussen stopped recording and walked closer. By the time he reached the group, the boy was sitting up and speaking with lifeguards, he said. Firefighters and an ambulance arrived soon afterward.
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Vander Dussen said he did not observe anyone who appeared to be the boy’s parent during the rescue or during the roughly two minutes he remained after the boy reached shore.
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Attempts to reach the boy’s mother for comment Wednesday were unsuccessful.
The footage quickly spread online and drew the attention of President Donald Trump. In a social media post Tuesday, Trump called Williams a “heroic young man” and said he planned to invite the teenager and his family, and possibly the boy he rescued, to the White House for a high civilian honor.
Rai said he had spoken only briefly with his children since the rescue and expected to learn more when they return home to Dallas.
“It’s a miracle he survived,” Rai said.