“This man right here saved my life right before my last breath,” one of the girls said. “I’m so thankful for him.”
A car with three girls inside plunged into the Pascagoula River in Moss Point, Mississippi around 2:30 a.m. during the Fourth of July weekend.
Fortunately, a 16-year-old boy was at the right place at the right time.
The vehicle drove off a boat ramp, plunged into the river, then floated about 20 feet from the shore before sinking.
“The driver of that vehicle stated she was following her GPS and did not realize she was going into the water,” said the Moss Point Police Department.
That’s when Corion Evans took off his shirt, shoes, tossed his phone away, and jumped in the water.
He could hear the cries for help.
Evans been swimming since the age of 3 so he knew he had the skills needed to help.
He didn’t even hesitate.
“I was just like, ‘I can’t let none of these folks die. They need to get out the water,’” he told WLOX. “So, I just started getting them. I wasn’t even thinking about nothing else.”
Karon ″KJ″ Bradley, a friend of his, jumped in as well to help him get the girls on the roof of the car.
Moss Point Police Officer Gary Mercer arrived to find the teen already in the water.
Mercer was pulling someone to shore, but she started panicking, causing him to swallow some water.
Corion recalled seeing the cop fall in and scream for help.
“So, I went over there. I went and I grabbed the police officer and I’m like swimming him back until I feel myself I can walk.”
Mercer and the three girls were taken to the hospital and thankfully are doing well.
“Twenty-five yards out, so it was a lot of swimming. My legs were so tired after,” he said. “Anything could’ve been in that water, though. But I wasn’t thinking about it.”
Moss Point Chief Brandon Ashley commended Corion for his bravery and efforts.
“The police department and I commend Mr. Evans’s bravery and selflessness he displayed by risking his own safety to help people in danger,” he said in a statement.
Ashley added that if not for Evan’s rescue efforts, they could have pulled bodies from the water instead.
Moss Point city officials presented Corion with a certificate of commendation thanking him for his heroic deed.
The officials also recognized Mercer for his “bravery in the rescue.”
Corion’s mother, Marquita Evans, is proud of her son’s bravery and is thankful everyone involved is safe.
She’s glad that her son made it out alive, knowing how risky the rescue was.
Corion never hesitated, jumping in and helping rescue the girls and Mercer. He never thought about himself, instead focusing on getting everybody out of the water.
Cora Watson is one of the victims and she took to Facebook to thank Corion for his incredible act.
“This man right here saved my life right before my last breath,” she wrote. “I’m so thankful for him.”
Watch the vide0 below for more on Corion and his brave rescue!