Ryder Williams, the 16-year-old lifeguard who saved the life of a 10-year-old boy on July 25. Photos: YouTube//Screenshot
On July 25, a 10-year-old boy came very close to drowning at Seabright State Beach in Santa Cruz. Thankfully, a 16-year-old lifeguard named Ryder Williams was there to rescue him. Now, the boy’s father is speaking out about how grateful he is to Williams.
“Another two of three seconds, I don’t think my son would have made it,” Sumit Rai, the father of the rescued 10-year-old, Nathaniel, told ABC7 News. “They formed a bit of a human chain because, at first, you see a couple of people run out and they felt the intensity of the waves and we didn’t want to have to see more people get rescued. I think they saw that, so they retreated.”
After what felt like an eternity of struggling, the boy was finally pulled to safety. In the wake of the rescue and the footage going viral, Williams recieved an invitation to the White House from Donald Trump.
“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 wrote. “Very brave, he deserves it!”
According to Nathaniel’s father, the boy lost consciousness at some point during the rescue.
“From what I gathered, he assumed he was going to die,” Rai continued. “He was drowning. He knew he was drowning. He blacked out. He went unconscious. When he came out of the water, he was clearly limp. It doesn’t look like he was breathing.”
Rai went on to say he doesn’t have the words to say how thankful he is to everyone involved in his son’s rescue.
“God bless them and, you know, thank you,” he said. “I cannot express sufficient gratitude. 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.”
For Ryder’s part, the lifeguard is remaining humble, even as he’s hailed as a hero around the country. “I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to return this child to his family safely,” he 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,” he said.
