When a 10-year-old boy was swept off by heavy crashing waves at Seabright State Beach, 16 year-old rookie lifeguard Ryder Williams didn’t think twice to jump into action. The heroic moment was caught on video and went viral -the rescue drew attention online and in the White House. Tanto así, that teenage lifeguard will receive the High Civil Honor metal by the president Donald Trump for saving Nathaniel Rai. “I just saw him go under and my body moved before my brain caught up”, Williams told the media. “The waves were rough that day. You could see the current pulling him out fast.”
The boy had been playing close to the shoreline – the way kids do, splashing around, no worries – when a sudden surge swept him right off his feet. People on the beach started yelling, but Williams was already sprinting across the sand and diving into the surf. “When I got to him, he was panicking, swallowing water,” Williams said. “I grabbed him, got his head above the surface, and just kept talking to him – telling him he was going to be okay.”
“Due to the volatility of the water” he couldn’t get the boy into a rescue tube or pull him out because “he was limp and the waves were pushing so hard,” said Williams.
Meet the hero! 16-year-old lifeguard Ryder (reportedly Ryder Williams)
This high school student and seasonal Santa Cruz State Parks lifeguard pulled off one of the most incredible rescues of the summer at Seabright Beach on July 25.
A 10-year-old boy was being hammered by… pic.twitter.com/aptY6u0nSb
— Sarah Fields (@SarahisCensored) July 28, 2026
The right there? That’s training meeting heart. Williams swam the boy back to shore, keeping his airway clear the whole way. Paramedics checked the kid out on the beach – shaken up, but safe, Not a scratch.
The boy’s family, hugged Williams right there on the sand. You know that moment hit different for everyone watching. “Ryder trains hard and it shows in moments like this,” said Santa Cruz Beach Safety Captain Laura Medina. “That boy is alive because Ryder was ready.”
The boy’s father, Sumit Rai, said his son Nathaniel remains shaken by the ordeal.
“I think he probably, from what I gathered, assumed he was going to die,” Rai said in an interview with ABC7 in California. “He was drowning. He knew he was drowning. He blacked out. He went unconscious.”
Rai credited Williams with saving his son’s life.
“He’s the only reason that my son is alive currently,” Rai said. “I cannot express sufficient gratitude to him…Ryder’s only 16 years old himself, and for him to take that kind of leadership and go out and have that type of courage and bravery to save someone else’s life is remarkable,” Rai said. “I think he deserves every medal and award and honor that’s possible.”
For our families heading to the beach this summer – and we know you are – city officials want to remind you: swim near staffed lifeguard towers, keep your eyes on the kids, especially when the swells pick up. Check daily surf conditions and lifeguard schedules on the city’s parks and recreation website before you head out. Because at the end of the day, it takes a community to keep our kids safe – and people like Ryder Williams to jump in when it counts.
Image Source
- Lifeguard Ryder Williams: Canva
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