RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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A teenage lifeguard who saved a boy from rough surf in Santa Cruz will be welcomed to the White House to receive recognition for the rescue, President Donald Trump said Tuesday.
The dramatic water rescue at Seabright Beach last weekend was caught on video. The footage showed the 16-year-old lifeguard holding onto the boy and keeping his head afloat as they were battered by wave after wave. The lifeguard, along with a counterpart, eventually managed to get the boy back on dry ground.
“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 said in a post on social media. “Very brave, he deserves it!”
Trump’s son Eric said the lifeguard should be presented with the “highest civilian honor.”
Witness Scott Vander Dussen said the waves were coming in at a normal cadence and intensity before everything escalated.
“It changed in a heartbeat,” he said. “It caught a lot of people off guard. Unfortunately, this young man was overwhelmed and swept out in just a moment’s time.”
After being rescued, the boy was evaluated by paramedics before being released to his parents, Vander Dussen said.
“I’m glad it ended the way that it did,” he said. “I’m certain that if the lifeguards weren’t there, he wouldn’t have gone home that night.”
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