Teen lifeguard reveals terrifying fight to save 10-year-old boy from crushing California waves

SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA: Teen lifeguard Ryder Williams is opening up about the perilous rescue that turned him into a national hero after he pulled a 10-year-old boy from dangerous surf at Seabright State Beach.

Days after the dramatic July 25 rescue drew widespread attention, Williams has shared what was going through his mind as he struggled against powerful waves to keep the child alive.

The 16-year-old rookie lifeguard said the moment he reached Nathaniel Rai, he realized just how serious the situation had become.

Ryder Williams says Nathaniel Rai went limp in the water

Williams was watching the shoreline from Tower 2 when he spotted Nathaniel after a strong wave knocked the boy off his feet in ankle-deep water.

He immediately dropped his equipment and ran into rough waves that he said were between 8 and 10 feet high.

"As I grab the child, he goes limp, so I'm thinking about if he's unconscious or not, that I really need to go in," Williams recalled.

The rescue quickly became more difficult than he had expected. According to Williams, the location of the incident made it impossible to rely on his fins.

"The challenges for this rescue was that it was so close in, fins were ineffective," he said.

As the waves continued crashing around them, Williams realized he could not bring the boy back alone.

"I was unable to pull him out because he was limp and the waves were pushing so hard," he said.

Instead, he focused on keeping them both from being swept farther into the Pacific.

"The whole time I was thinking, I just need to hold my position until my partner can get here because I'm not going to be able to get him out on my own," Williams recalled. 

Rescue turned into a team effort as waves kept crashing

The 16-year-old said he concentrated on maintaining his grip on Nathaniel while waiting for another lifeguard to reach them.

"Doing the best I can to get a good grip on the child and not get sucked out any further," he said.

Several beachgoers rushed into the water after seeing the struggle, but Williams told them to stay back.

"There were bystanders who jumped in to try to help, and I yelled at them all to get back to shore," he recalled.

Another lifeguard soon arrived and helped bring Nathaniel safely back to land.

"My partner mostly takes over holding the child because at this point, my arms were very exhausted from holding on," Williams said. "I still support him as much as I can as we drag him out of the water."

Nathaniel's father, Sumit Rai, later said his son survived because Williams acted without hesitation.

"Gratefully, he's alive. It's a miracle," Rai said. "I'm so grateful to that lifeguard, Ryder."

Rai added that only seconds separated the rescue from a far worse outcome: "Two more seconds, he gets thrown another 15-20 feet. You can't see him, let alone rescue him."

After reaching shore, Nathaniel coughed up sand and remained in shock. According to Rai, the boy later told him that he had drowned and lost consciousness.

Ryder Williams returned to work after the dramatic rescue

For Williams, however, the rescue was simply part of his responsibility as a lifeguard.

"That is just a part of our daily task to do. We can keep the public safe. That's the reason we were on the beach," he said.

Instead of ending his shift, Williams climbed back into his tower and continued watching over beachgoers.

"I returned to my tower after the rescue and continued to make safety contacts and ended up making more rescues later that day," Williams shared. 

He also stressed that rescues like Nathaniel's are never the work of one person.

"Together that day, we had many units on and all the tower staff," he said, adding that constant communication between lifeguards allows them to respond quickly to emergencies.

The teenager hopes the attention surrounding the rescue reminds people to understand ocean conditions before entering the water.

"I wish more people knew about ocean conditions and rip currents," Williams said. "A way that people can find out about those is talking to the lifeguards or doing some research before they head to the beach."

Despite the spotlight, Williams said the experience has only strengthened his commitment to helping others every day.