Posted on 07/07/2022 11:25:05 AM PDT by algore
A Mississippi teenager is being hailed as a hero after he jumped into an alligator-infested river to rescue three girls and a police officer from drowning.
Corion Evans, 16, was on the shore of the Pascagoula River early Sunday morning when he and his friends saw a car drive over a boat launch and sink into the water.
The three girls in the car had driven off Interstate-10 straight into the water after trying to follow the directions on their GPS at around 2.30am, according to WLOX.
As they reached about 20ft from shore, their car began to sink.
'They drove straight under the water,' Evans told the news station. 'Like only a little bit of the car was still above the water.'
At that point, Evans took off his shoes, shirt and phone and jumped into the river, along with his friends and brothers Karon 'KJ' and Caleb Bradley.
'I was like 'I can't let none of these folks die. They need to get out of the water,'' Evans recounted. 'So I just started getting them. I wasn't even thinking about nothing else.
He said he tried to carry the three girls above water and swim with them to shore.
But as Evans was making his rescue, he said he noticed Moss Point Police Officer Gray Mercer was also struggling in the water after he, too, dove into help the girls.
'I turned around, I see the police officer,' Evans said. 'He's drowning. He's going underwater, drowning saying 'Help.'
'So I went over there. I went and I grabbed the police officer and I'm like swimming him back until I feel I can walk
'It was a lot of swimming,' Evans explained. 'My legs were so tired after.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
At that age, I was more or less doing about the same thing, running around all night with friends.
It’s what teenagers do.
“But 16 and out at 2:30am with two friends?”
You’re obviously not from the South. For all you know they were out frog-giggin’. Additionally, I-10 is very close to the coast. They may have been fishing or flounder-giggin’. ;-)
My girl brain prefers maps. My dad taught me how to use them. He could find his way almost anywhere, sometimes without a map.
One of my first jobs in the early ‘70s was in a city Mapping and Platting Department. That’s where I learned to love maps, and learn directions (N,S,E,W). One of my tasks was to run huge copies of Mylar maps on the old blueline machine. (I actually liked that ammonia smell!)
“The three girls in the car had driven off Interstate-10 straight into the water after trying to follow the directions on their GPS...”
Woman drivers, gen Z, and “smart” technology... the Perfect Storm!
Are Thomas Guides still being printed on paper?
In this case.. Thank Goodness!
You can’t say he “was up to no good.” :0)
Not to detract from this young man’s heroism, but the Pascagoula Rive ain’t alligator infested. There are a few there, but you’d be hard pressed to find one.
This really great. But the driver should have their license revoked.
I think this happened at the I-10 boat launch, which literally runs between (and underneath) the lanes of I-10. A GPS can’t tell that you’re not on elevated roadway that’s 18 feet above you!
There are lots of good people of all ages.
Good story
Roger that! And, “recalculating” gets old quick. Especially since I don’t follow directions that well. 😅🤔✌
LOL! Yup! Of course they could have been headed to work.
Okay, allegedly infested. 😅✌🐊
My question is, how did they get there. I know where this is. You have to take a myriad of turns to get to that launch.
That is a good point. I have seen that when exiting a highway.
Poor girls.
My old GPS-V took me wheelin’ frequently, but never into an alligator infested swamp at night (probably because we don’t have them here).
Went 1 block and got a second turn right. Went 1 block and got a third turn right. If you’re counting, this was a full circle putting me back on the boulevard. Pulled over, called my contact at the steel mill and got verbal directions for the last 1/2 mile of the 700 something mile drive.
They were fishing or gigging frogs.
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