A 16-year-old boy in Mississippi is being recognized as a hero after he dove into a river filled with dangers to save three girls and a police officer from drowning.

Corion Evans was on the shore of the Pascagoula River early Sunday morning when he and his friends witnessed a car drive over a boat launch and sink into the water. The vehicle had driven off Interstate-10 around 2:30 a.m., reportedly following GPS directions, and plunged into the river.

As the car reached about 20 feet from the shore, it began to submerge. “They drove straight under the water,” Evans told local news. “Only a little bit of the car was still above the surface.” Without hesitation, Evans took off his shoes, shirt, and phone, and jumped into the river alongside his friends and his brothers, Karon “KJ” and Caleb Bradley.

“I was like, ‘I can’t let any of these people die. They need to get out of the water,’” Evans recalled. “I just started getting them. I wasn’t even thinking about anything else.” He said he tried to carry the three girls above water and swim with them to safety.

While making the rescue, Evans noticed Moss Point Police Officer Gray Mercer also struggling in the water after diving in to help. “I turned around, I see the police officer,” Evans said. “He’s going underwater, drowning, saying ‘Help.’ So I went over there, grabbed him, and swam him back until I felt I could stand.”

Eventually, Evans helped get all three girls and Officer Mercer to the shore. Once safe, they began vomiting due to having swallowed large amounts of water. “It was a lot of swimming,” Evans admitted. “My legs were so tired after.” He also noted the river was home to around 13,000 alligators, but said, “I wasn’t thinking about it.”

Authorities confirmed that the victims were taken to a local hospital. Officer Mercer is expected to return to duty later this week. Evans’s actions have sparked widespread admiration in his community. His mother, Marquita Evans, expressed pride in her son, saying, “He wasn’t just thinking about himself. He was trying to really get all those people out of the water. I’m glad nothing happened to him while he was trying to save other people’s lives.”

Moss Point Police Chief Brandon Ashley also praised Evans’s courage. “The police department and I commend Mr. Evans’ bravery and selflessness,” Ashley said. “If Mr. Evans had not assisted, it could have ended tragically, instead of all occupants being rescued safely.”

Corion Evans’s heroic act is now being celebrated as an example of selflessness and quick thinking, showing how one person’s courage can make a life-saving difference in an instant.