Lifeguard rescues seven teens in riptide

When lifeguard John Moore first spotted the seven teenagers swimming at Newport Beach, he thought it was just a bunch of kids playing hooky, having fun. A closer view, though, showed a rip current had pulled them too deep into the ocean, and it looked like they couldn’t swim.

Moore, who was on his routine patrol Monday morning, jumped out of his truck, called for backup, grabbed a buoy and sprinted to the surf.

Ultimately he rescued all seven, but not before almost getting pulled under a couple of times as he tried to save the panicking teens.

“In 18 years I’ve made a lot of rescues, but ... this was one of the most challenging rescues I have had in my career,” Moore said. “Panicking is what kills people, not rip currents.”

Moore’s suspicions about the group were aroused because it was 10:30 a.m., and he wondered why the youths were not in school. So the lifeguard, who was patrolling near the 48th tower, drove his truck closer to the water to get a better look.

It was obvious to Moore that none of them could swim well, he said, adding that in their panic they had split up into three groups, making the rescue even more perilous.

Moore dashed past the first pair of kids because they appeared to have stronger swimming skills and shouted to them to swim ashore, he said.

The next four teens, in their mad scramble to stay afloat, unwittingly kept shoving each down under. So he gave them his buoy and turned away to save another swimmer just out of his reach who appeared to be in the most trouble.

“As I got closer to him, he started to fight me off and was swinging at me,” Moore said. “So I obviously can’t get in a fight with him because he would pull me down with him.”

Moore gave up and swam back to the other four teens who had slipped away from the buoy and were again pulling each other down underwater, he said. He pushed the lifesaver back to them and two of the teens grabbed it and held on.

The other two swimmers were in such a panic they started yanking Moore down when he tried to help them, so he backed off and hollered at them until they calmed down and were also able to grab the lifesaver.

The current swept Moore and the four holding the buoy around a jetty to the west, but, unfortunately the other swimmer who had been swinging at Moore was left behind. Just then a surfer paddled over and helped Moore pull the four clinging to the lifesaver to shore.

“As we were walking back in one of the victims collapsed unconscious in the knee-deep water,” Moore said. “So then I picked her up and carried her up the beach and began assessing her [until paramedics arrived].”

After making certain that the girl was OK, Moore asked the six or so bystanders on the beach to help the teens do a head count, he said.

By then, Moore found out the swimmer he lost sight of around the jetty had managed to get ashore where he collapsed. The two strong swimmers who had gotten to the beach by themselves stayed with their friend until rescue workers arrived.

But once the fire trucks rushed up to the beach, the pair grabbed their friend and ran away, witnesses told Moore.

Two other teenagers ran away, leaving only the girl and another boy behind. The boy translated for the girl who spoke Spanish, Moore said.

The girl was taken to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, Moore said. Her condition is unknown, but she was conscious and her injuries did not appear life-threatening, authorities said.