What a perfect example of being in the right place at the right time! Corion Evans, age 16, was traveling by the river when he saw a car go off the road and into the water with three girls inside. Without hesitation, he stripped to his underwear and dived into the water to rescue them.
Evans said that the car sank so swiftly that he could barely see the vehicle’s roof above the water when he tried to rescue the other youngsters. His buddy Karon “KJ” Bradley also dived in to assist the females in reaching safety. Evans, recalling the heroic rescue, told WLOX, “I was just like, ‘I can’t let none of these folks die. They need to get out the water.’ So, I just started getting them. I wasn’t even thinking about nothing else.”
Heroic 16 Year Old Mississippi Student Corion Evans saves 3 teenage girls and an officer after the girls drove their car into the River. Corion we salute your efforts and sacrifice! May your compassion & bravery serve as an example to others! pic.twitter.com/hsZ737bAB6
— Black With No Chaser (@BeBlackNoChaser) July 5, 2022
Not only did the quick-thinking adolescent rescue all three females, but he also heard another person yelling for assistance in the chaos of the event. It turned out that the swimmer was a police officer responding to the incident. Evans went out to shore to rescue the cop after recognizing he was in trouble. It is incomprehensible how this teenager had the strength to save not one, but four people from the murky, black waters of the Pascagoula River.
If you are from Mississippi, you are aware that some bodies of water in the state are inhabited by irate inhabitants who do not like being disturbed. Depending on the body of water you’re in, you may encounter anything from a leaping carp to an alligator, but Evans did not consider the possibility that he could become someone’s meal. He was in full hero mode, and the swimmers he saved are grateful.
Evans reveals in an interview with WLOX that he had been swimming since he was three years old, but that early morning he had to put his abilities to the test. He told the television channel, “I was behind them trying to keep them above water and swim with them at the same time.” Later in the interview the teen went on to say, “25 yards out, so it was a lot of swimming. My legs were so tired after. Anything could’ve been in that water, though. But I wasn’t thinking about it.”
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Thanks to the swimming abilities and fast thinking of the teens, all four people rescued survived. They were sent to a nearby hospital for treatment. Chief Brandon Ashley of Moss Point Police Department issued the following statement to WLOX: “The police department and I commend Mr. Evans’s bravery and selflessness he displayed by risking his own safety to help people in danger. If Mr. Evans had not assisted, it could have possibly turned out tragically instead of all occupants rescued safely.”