SANTA CRUZ, Calif., July 28 (Santa Cruz News Online) — A child was swept into heavy surf at Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz, California, and a teenage lifeguard pulled him back to shore in a rescue captured on video by witness Scott Vander Dussen.
The footage shows the lifeguard entering the water, ducking under repeated breaking waves while holding the child, and pushing back toward the beach as other beachgoers and another lifeguard moved in to help.
“It caught a lot of people off-guard,” Vander Dussen said. “Unfortunately, this young man was overwhelmed and swept out in just a moment’s time.”
The rescue drew wide attention after the video circulated online, but the source material did not include an official report identifying the lifeguard or giving a measured wave height for the surf at the beach.
