WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump honored a 16-year-old California lifeguard at the White House for rescuing Nathaniel Rai from dangerous waves off the Santa Cruz coast.
Trump hosted Ryder Williams, Nathaniel and their families in the Oval Office, praising the teenager’s courage and the training that helped him carry out the rescue.
“This is a great story. And it’s an honor to be with Ryder Williams, who is a 16 year old lifeguard, California, the Santa Cruz area,” Trump said.
Trump said he had spoken with Nathaniel about the ordeal and asked whether he believed he would have survived without Williams’ help.
“I said, would you have made it without him? And you said, not really, right, not really, it was trouble. So you’re going to have a long and beautiful life,” Trump said.
The rescue drew widespread attention because of the violent surf. Trump said he had watched footage of the incident several times.
“I know when I first saw it, I said, roll that back, I want to see that again, is that really happening?” he said.
Nathaniel’s father, Sumit Rai, thanked Williams, lifeguard Aaron Bohnen and others who assisted in the rescue.
“It’s incredible, what Ryder did. I’m just beyond grateful to him and Aaron and the rest of the team and even the good Samaritans that were there,” Rai said.
Williams said he relied on his lifeguard training while battling the dangerous surf.
“In those dangerous moments that we have, we always try to fall back on our training,” he said. “We are trained so well by many to handle that situation as best we can, so I really was thinking about how to get the boy out of the water as fast as I can.”
Williams said he hopes to become a firefighter and attend paramedic school. Asked what message he had for other young people, he encouraged them to look out for those around them and help whenever possible.
Justin McHenry, assistant chief of aquatics and lifeguard operations in Santa Cruz, said warm weather, large surf and strong currents had created dangerous conditions on the day of the rescue.
McHenry said about 200 lifeguards are trained each year beginning at age 16, adding that the job requires “a lot of integrity and resilience.” He said Williams’ actions reflected the qualities expected of a state park lifeguard. (Source: IANS)
