The dramatic footage of a teenage lifeguard saving a child from punishing waves along the California coast has captured the attention of the nation, drawing praise from the shores of Santa Cruz all the way to the White House. Video of the rescue at Seabright State Beach on Saturday, captured and shared by local photographer Scott Vander Dussen, has gone viral on virtually every social media platform. The footage shows the rookie lifeguard, just 16 years old, holding onto a limp child as massive swells repeatedly pound the duo. They eventually made it to shore with the help of a second lifeguard. No one suffered any serious injuries, officials said. President Trump re-shared the video in a post on X — calling the teen a “heroic young man” who he hopes will come to the White House to be properly honored for his valor. “Very brave, he deserves it!” the president said. But the family of the lifeguard, who identified him to The Guardian as Ryder Williams, said the teen feels he was simply doing his job. “He told me he doesn’t know why everyone was blowing this out of proportion,” Shane Williams, Ryder’s father, told the outlet. His comments to me are like … ‘Any other lifeguard on duty would do the same thing I did.’”“He sees [the rescue] as his job — his duty,” Shane Williams said. “He did his job that day.”Still, the father said he was moved watching the video of his son. This summer was Ryder’s first as a California State Parks lifeguard, and the rescue that has gone viral was also his first. “He was such a stud out there,” Williams told The Guardian. “I’m super, super proud of him.” Williams said his son actually made a second rescue later that day, but it wasn’t caught on video.Lifeguards across the state have made thousands of rescues over the last few days as people have flocked to the coast to escape a long summer heat wave. But in their quest for relief, they’ve found massive, dangerous waves and strong currents fueled by tropical cyclones from the eastern Pacific Ocean, according to the National Weather Service. Lifeguards with the California State Parks’ Santa Cruz District, which includes Seabright State Beach, performed 34 rescues over the weekend and more than 5,000 “preventative contacts” with beachgoers, which may have avoided additional rescues. In the rescue caught on video, a State Parks spokesperson said the lifeguard saw a child lose his balance in the waves and get swept about 15 yards offshore. He was able to reach the child, and pull him back to safety with the help of a second lifeguard, State Parks spokesperson Angelica De La Peña said in a statement. “Our State Park lifeguards courageously risk their own lives every day to keep our visitors safe,” she said. “Their dedication never goes unnoticed and they are truly heroes to their local communities, Californians and the nation.”
