Jordan Matthew.Photograph: Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
A shuttle driver is being praised for his bravery after rescuing three tourists caught in a dangerous rip current off Louisiana’s southern coast.
Jordan Matthew, a driver for Reliant Shuttle, had just dropped off a group of visitors from Oklahoma at a beach on Grand Isle when an alarming situation unfolded. Speaking to WWL Louisiana in an interview published on June 15, Matthew said one of the tourists urgently flagged him down and told him that a young boy had been swept into a rip current.
As the emergency escalated, a woman believed to be related to the boy entered the water in an attempt to save him, only to become trapped by the current herself. A third woman swimming nearby was also pulled into the fast-moving water.
Matthew said the scene was frightening.
“They were going under, and the waves were crashing over their heads,” he recalled of the victims, who were struggling near Elmer’s Island Wildlife Refuge. “It was a rough sight.”
Although he had no formal lifeguard training, Matthew immediately ran into the water. He first reached the boy and one of the women, guiding them to shallower water before helping them safely back to shore.
He then turned his attention to the third woman, who had drifted farther from land. Swimming out to reach her, Matthew grabbed hold of her and brought her back to shore, at one point carrying her over his shoulder.
Matthew, a resident of Mandeville, Louisiana, said he entered what he calls a state of “absolute focus” during the rescue.
“I just locked in and went one by one to get them,” he explained. Apart from encouraging the victims to stay calm and conserve their energy, he said he was focused solely on getting everyone to safety.
The rescue quickly drew public attention. In a social media post shared on June 13, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries credited Matthew’s swift actions with saving all three lives.
“Thanks to Jordan’s decisive action, all three individuals made it safely out,” the department wrote. Officials also praised his “quick thinking and heroic actions,” adding that his willingness to act in a critical moment “made all the difference.”
Matthew said he was relieved that the tourists escaped without physical injuries, though they were understandably shaken by the experience. In appreciation, the group later invited him to dinner.
The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries also highlighted Matthew’s warning about the dangers of coastal currents, noting that visitors unfamiliar with local waters can easily underestimate their strength.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), rip currents are narrow channels of water that flow rapidly away from the shoreline and contribute to roughly 100 deaths each year in the United States. NOAA advises anyone caught in a rip current to swim parallel to the shore until free of the current before heading back to land at an angle, rather than attempting to swim directly against it.
Reflecting on the incident, Matthew offered a simple reminder for beachgoers: “If there’s calm water, there’s bound to be a rip current.”
Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/weather-news/articles/driver-hailed-saving-tourists-rip-100003959.html