Heroic Santa Cruz teen lifeguard who saved child recognized by Trump at White House
The lifeguard saved a boy from the Santa Cruz, California surf last month.
Ryder Williams, a 16-year-old lifeguard who was seen rescuing a child in the California surf last month, met with President Donald Trump on Monday at the White House, along with the boy he saved, 10-year-old Nathaniel Rai.
Trump met with Williams and Rai in the Oval Office on Monday after announcing on social media that Williams would receive what he called a "High Civilian Honor" for the rescue.
Williams saved Nathaniel Rai from the surf at Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz, California on Saturday, July 25.
Williams saw the child lose his footing in ankle-deep water about 20 yards from the tower he was assigned to, he said in a statement shared on Instagram by California State Parks.
"I radioed it in, threw my radio and sunglasses at the base of my tower as I ran toward the kid," Williams said in the statement.
"That's just a part of our daily task to do," Williams said in an Instagram video posted by the state parks account. "We keep the public safe, that's the reason we're on the beach."
Williams made other rescues that day, he said in the video.
"We're going to bring this heroic young man, and his family, into the White House with, perhaps, the boy he saved, to give him a High Civilian Honor," Trump posted on Truth Social on Tuesday, July 28, calling Williams "very brave" in the post.
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There was a high surf advisory in place that day, as the swell consistently reached 4- to 6-inch sets and waves occasionally rose to 10 inches, according to California State Parks.
The shoreline and break at Seabright Beach are relatively steep, with heavy surf that breaks close to shore, the state parks said.
"I cannot express sufficient gratitude," Sumit Rai, the child's father, said in an interview. "There's nothing more valuable to me than my children, and so to save one of them and their lives, especially at such a young tender age, you know, which is such a premature way to lose someone. I can't thank them enough."
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Nathaniel Rai lost consciousness in the incident, his father said, adding that if it had been another two or three seconds, he does not think his son would have made it.
"I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to return the child to his family safely," Williams said in the Instagram statement. "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."
