It was about 2:30 in the morning, the river was black, and a car full of teenage girls was sinking. Corion Evans was 16 years old, and he jumped in anyway.
On July 3, 2022, a car carrying three teenage girls drove off the Interstate 10 boat launch in Moss Point, Mississippi, and into the Pascagoula River. The girls climbed onto the roof of the sinking car, calling for help.
Evans, who was nearby, didn’t wait for sirens. He had been swimming since he was three years old — and that night, it mattered.
One at a time, in the dark
Evans dove in and started bringing the girls back to shore one at a time, swimming each one through dark river water to safety while the car went under. A friend of his also jumped in to help. Between them, all three girls made it out of the water alive.
Most rescue stories end there — three girls safe, one teenage hero, roll credits. This one didn’t end there, because the night had one more person in that river who was running out of strength.
Then the rescuer needed rescuing
Moss Point Police Officer Mercer had swum out to reach one of the girls. But a panicking drowning victim can pull even a strong swimmer under — and that is what happened. The girl grabbed onto the officer, and Officer Mercer went under, struggling, taking in water.
Evans — who had just pulled three people out of the same river — went back in and pulled the officer to safety too.
By the time it was over, a 16-year-old had rescued four people in one night: the three girls, and the trained officer who had come to rescue them.
“Bravery and selflessness”
Every person who went into the Pascagoula River that night came home. The Moss Point police chief publicly commended Evans for his “bravery and selflessness,” and in 2023 the Mississippi Senate adopted Resolution 32 formally honoring what he did — a teenager whose only equipment was the swimming lessons he’d had since he was a toddler and a refusal to stand on the bank.
Ask yourself what most of us would have done at 2:30 a.m., fully dressed, looking at black water and a sinking car. The honest answer for almost everybody is: call 911 and wait. That isn’t cowardice — drowning victims take would-be rescuers down with them every year, which is nearly what happened to a police officer that night.
Corion Evans jumped four times’ worth of danger anyway, and the last person he saved was the professional sent to do the job.
Join the conversation
Four lives because one teenager could swim and wouldn’t wait. Should swimming be something EVERY kid is taught, the way this young man’s family taught him at age three? And be honest — could you have jumped? Tell us below.
Source note: This article is based on the Associated Press report “Mississippi teen recounts rescuing 4 people from drowning” (July 2022), WLOX/Gray News coverage, and Mississippi Senate Resolution 32 (2023), the state’s official commendation of Corion Evans. Published sources differ on Officer Mercer’s first name (Gary/Garry), so this article uses his surname only. A friend of Evans also entered the water to help the girls; Evans is credited here with the rescues, as in the AP account, without claiming he was alone in the river.
