A 16-year-old boy was lucky to be in the right spot at the right moment when a car drove from a boat ramp onto the Mississippi river during the July 4th weekend.
Around 2:30 a.m., the vehicle with three girls inside plunged into the Pascagoula River at Moss Point. It floated 20 feet away from the shore, and then began 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 in a statement.
Corion Evans saw the car sinking and quickly ran to help. He took off his shirt and shoes, tossed his cellphone, and jumped in. He could hear three of the occupants calling for assistance.
The high school student has the skills necessary to do this. He has been swimming since he was 3 years old, so he didn’t 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.”
One of Corion’s friends, Karon ″KJ″ Bradley, also jumped in to help get the girls on the roof of the vehicle.
“I was behind them trying to keep them above water and swim with them at the same time,” Corion said.
The brave teen was already at the river when Gary Mercer from Moss Point Police arrived on the scene. The cop was trying to bring one person to shore at one point. But the teenager panicked and began to swallow water.
“I turned around. I see the officer. He’s drowning. He’s going underwater, drowning, saying, ‘Help!’” Corion recalled. “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.”
After the incident, Mercer was accompanied by the three girls to the hospital. All four are doing well, thankfully.
“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 praised Corion’s life-saving 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. “If Mr. Evans had not assisted, it could have possibly turned out tragically instead of all occupants rescued safely.”
Moss Point officials presented Corion a certificate of commendation to recognize his heroic act. In the same event, they also recognized Mercer for his “bravery in the rescue.”
Corion’s mother, Marquita Evans, is relieved that everyone was safe and praised her son for his courage.
“I’m glad nothing happened to him while he was trying to save other people’s lives,” she said. “I was really proud of Corion because he wasn’t just thinking about himself. He was trying to really get all those people out the water.”
Cora Watson, one of the victims, took to Facebook and praised Corion’s actions.
“This man right here saved my life right before my last breath,” she wrote. “I’m so thankful for him.”
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