{"id":6387,"date":"2026-08-05T12:38:57","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T12:38:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6387"},"modified":"2026-08-05T12:38:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T12:38:57","slug":"10-year-old-boy-doesnt-remember-dramatic-rescue-by-teen-lifeguard-from-pounding-santa-cruz-surf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6387","title":{"rendered":"10-year-old boy doesn\u2019t remember dramatic rescue by teen lifeguard from pounding Santa Cruz surf"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>By KENDRIA LaFLEUR and JEFFREY COLLINS, Associated Press<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>DALLAS \u2014 A 10-year-old boy rescued by a teen lifeguard from hammering waves off the California coast doesn\u2019t remember anything after a giant wave swept him off his feet in ankle-deep water.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6385\">Bay Area expected to heat up amid continuing fire weather conditions<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Video of the rescue showed 16-year-old lifeguard Ryder Williams clinging to Nathaniel Rai as wave after wave crashed over them. The pair disappeared from view and reemerged after several seconds as the wave receded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think I have a bruise from him holding me so tight,\u201d Nathaniel told The Associated Press from his father\u2019s home in Dallas.<\/p>\n<p>Nathaniel was on vacation with his mother July 25 at Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz about 60 miles (about 100 kilometers) down the coast from San Francisco.<\/p>\n<p>Williams said he saw Nathaniel lose his footing in the shallow water.<\/p>\n<p>The water was too rough to get a rescue tube around the boy, who lost consciousness and went limp. The pair rode out a few more massive waves before a second lifeguard was able to help get them both back to shore, Williams said in a statement after the rescue.<\/p>\n<p>Nathaniel said the next thing he remembered was lifeguards grabbing him. \u201cI told him I was thankful he saved my life,\u201d the boy said.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6383\">Iconic Shakespearean actor to make history with August Wilson\u2019s \u2018Fences\u2019 in Santa Cruz<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The video of the rescue was seen around the world, even catching the attention of President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Nathaniel has watched the video. Like his father, he is amazed at how strong the waves were and the bravery shown by everyone who helped in the rescue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was two seconds away from dying,\u201d said Nathaniel\u2019s father, Sumit Rai. \u201cAnother couple seconds, if Ryder had not gotten to him, he would have been thrown another 15, 20 feet out to sea, at which point you can\u2019t see him, let alone retrieve him or rescue him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The father and son had a chance to talk to the lifeguard and his father.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt turns out we have a lot of common interests and it\u2019s kind of a small world in that sense,\u201d Sumit Rai said.<\/p>\n<p>Nathaniel said he had a little trouble breathing for a few days and his back was sore, but other than the bruise, he is doing well.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6381\">CHP: DUI suspect hits and kills Campbell driver on Highway 17<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By KENDRIA LaFLEUR and JEFFREY COLLINS DALLAS (AP) \u2014 A 10-year-old boy rescued by a teen lifeguard from hammering waves off the California coast doesn\u2019t remember anything after a giant wave swept him off his feet in ankle-deep water. Video of the rescue showed 16-year-old lifeguard Ryder Williams clinging to Nathaniel Rai as wave after [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>10-year-old boy doesn\u2019t remember dramatic rescue by teen lifeguard from pounding Santa Cruz surf - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6387\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"10-year-old boy doesn\u2019t remember dramatic rescue by teen lifeguard from pounding Santa Cruz surf - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By KENDRIA LaFLEUR and JEFFREY COLLINS DALLAS (AP) \u2014 A 10-year-old boy rescued by a teen lifeguard from hammering waves off the California coast doesn\u2019t remember anything after a giant wave swept him off his feet in ankle-deep water. 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