California lifeguard invited to White House after Trump sees viral rescue video
A teenage lifeguard is drawing national praise — and a White House invitation — after a viral video captured his heroic rescue of a boy in the powerful surf at a beach in Santa Cruz, California.
The video, captured Saturday at Seabright State Beach, has been viewed millions of times. The man who recorded the video said a boy, about 10 years old, was overwhelmed by wave after wave. The 16-year-old lifeguard rushed into the water, held onto the boy and tried to pull him back to shore while being battered by the surf.
After watching the video, President Trump called the lifeguard a “heroic young man.” The president announced plans to invite the teen, his family, and possibly the rescued boy to the White House to receive a high civilian honor.
“It’s the buzz around town and obviously all the hype around the invite to the White House, that’s pretty exciting,” Santa Cruz resident David Buckalew said. “He did a great job and he definitely deserves to be commended and recognized.”
The lifeguard works for California State Parks, where officials noted the rescue is exactly what their training prepares them to do.
“It’s great to see our lifeguards working. It’s what we train them to do,” said Tyler Leamer, a California State Parks peace officer lifeguard.
The incident occurred during an extremely busy weekend for lifeguards with both California State Parks and the Santa Cruz Fire Department. From Friday through Sunday, city lifeguards rescued 29 people from Santa Cruz beaches.
“We had that combination of great weather, large crowds, weekend day and that really large swell,” said Anaiis Moise, a marine safety officer with the Santa Cruz Fire Department. “If you saw the video, you saw how many waves that lifeguard had to duck under before there was enough of a lull for him to be able to get him up on the beach.”
Officials hope the viral attention also serves as an important reminder to respect the ocean. The National Weather Service has a beach hazards statement in effect, warning of an increased risk of sneaker waves and strong rip currents.
“We’re expecting the swell to continue into the end of the week and the beginning of the weekend — we’re going to see those waves still coming through,” Moise said.
First responders advise beachgoers to always choose locations with on-duty lifeguards and to not hesitate to speak with them. Lifeguards can advise exactly where it is safest to swim and what specific hazards to watch for before ever stepping into the water.
This story originally appeared on NBCBayArea.com.
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