{"id":5619,"date":"2026-07-29T06:06:57","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T06:06:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5619"},"modified":"2026-07-29T06:06:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T06:06:57","slug":"exclusive-hero-teen-lifeguard-who-saved-boy-from-pounding-california-surf-rescued-others-that-day-family-reveals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5619","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive | Hero teen lifeguard who saved boy from pounding California surf rescued others that day, family reveals"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>A teenage lifeguard lauded by President Trump for risking his life to save a 10-year-old boy from monster waves at a Santa Cruz beach rescued even more swimmers that day, his proud family revealed.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5617\">NYC lawyer caught canoodling with his much-younger colleague in Central Park placed on leave: report<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The family of Ryder Williams, 16, who said they\u2019re trying to shield the humble teen from national attention following the dramatic Saturday rescue, told The California Post that he was back in action at his lifeguard station Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe just wants to be a kid and work hard this summer and serve and protect his community,\u201d Ryder\u2019s father, Shane Williams, said. \u201cI\u2019m really proud of him. He\u2019s an amazing kid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ryder\u2019s heroics didn\u2019t end with him saving the 10-year-old \u2014 with viral video of the brave act even capturing the attention of President Trump.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe had two rescues afterwards on the same day that were more gnarly,\u201d Ryder\u2019s grandfather, George Williams, told The Post. <\/p>\n<p>In total, Ryder participated in five rescues during his Saturday lifeguard shift, the grandfather said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s doing great. We\u2019re so overwhelmed,\u201d added his dad, a 54-year-old retired firefighter. \u201cI\u2019m trying to shelter him. I still see him as a little boy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The terrifying drama unfolded Saturday at Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz when powerful waves dragged the 10-year-old swimmer into the churning surf.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As horrified beachgoers watched from shore, Ryder plunged into the water and battled the unrelenting waves to reach the boy before bringing him safely back to shore.<\/p>\n<p>The family\u2019s remarkable weekend took another unexpected turn Tuesday when Trump announced that Ryder would receive a \u201chigh civilian honor\u201d for his bravery.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re going to bring this heroic young man, and his family, into the White House with, perhaps, the boy he saved, to give him a High Civilian Honor. Very brave, he deserves it!\u201d Trump wrote on social media.<\/p>\n<p>His father said the family is still trying to process the surprise announcement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe just heard about that so I haven\u2019t even processed it,\u201d Shane Williams said.<\/p>\n<p>Asked whether they would travel to Washington DC, he replied: \u201cI\u2019m not sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo one from the White House has reached out yet,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Despite suddenly becoming the focus of national attention, Williams said his son is eager to return to normal life.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5615\">Mega Millions ticket holder wins $800M jackpot<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Ryder, who\u2019s going to be a high school junior, is an only child and is already back on duty at the beach.<\/p>\n<p>Shane Williams said his son has talked about following in his father\u2019s footsteps.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/strong><\/h2>\n<div>\n<p><strong>California Post News<\/strong>: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn<br \/><strong>California Post Sports<\/strong> Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X<br \/><strong>California Post  <\/strong>Opinion <br \/><strong>California Post Newsletters<\/strong>: Sign up here!<br \/><strong>California Post App<\/strong>: Download here!<br \/><strong>Home delivery<\/strong>: Sign up here!<br \/><strong>Page Six Hollywood<\/strong>: Sign up here!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s still young but he\u2019s thinking he wants to get into the fire service eventually,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re taking it step by step. We\u2019re just trying to regroup and make sure he\u2019s okay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The rescue left Ryder with only minor injuries.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe had some road rash on his forehead from holding on the kid,\u201d Williams said. \u201cHe hit the sand and scraped across it but he\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The emotional toll of the incident became clear when Ryder returned home after the rescue<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe told me when he got home, he said, \u2018Dad, I wasn\u2019t going to let go of that kid because I knew if I let go of him he was going to drown and I wasn\u2019t going to let that happen,\u2019 and it brought a tear to my eye when he said that,\u201d his father recalled. \u201cIt was pretty amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Shane Williams said his son\u2019s actions reflected the kind and caring person Ryder has always been.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cHe just wants to give back to his community because he grew up here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Ryder\u2019s grandfather said the teen has downplayed the attention surrounding his actions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was all in a day\u2019s work,\u201d George said Ryder told the family. \u201cHe said, \u2018This is what I do.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5613\">Gov. Hochul bizarrely claims Mamdani\u2019s brand-new pied-\u00e0-terre tax list is \u2018not out of the ordinary\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s a great kid,\u201d George added. \u201cWe love him to pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Teen lifeguard Ryder Williams, praised by President Trump, rescued a 10-year-old and other swimmers from dangerous waves at Santa Cruz Beach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metro"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Exclusive | Hero teen lifeguard who saved boy from pounding California surf rescued others that day, family reveals - 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