Teens Made Dramatic Rescue of Two Girls Off Sunset Cliffs

A week ago, two teens made a dramatic rescue of two young girls at Sunset Cliffs. It was Friday evening July 3 when two girls, perhaps aged 12 or 13, were standing close to the ocean, when a large set came in and just simply swept them off their feet and into the choppy water.

“The older one hit her head probably down on the reef and had a pretty serious head injury in the water,” Lt. Andy Lerum with the San Diego Lifeguards told ABC10News.

The incident was witnessed by famed OB photographer Jim Grant said. “Two young girls … They looked to be about 12 or 13,” Grant said. “They were down at this point, and a large set came in and swept them off their feet.”

Before lifeguards could respond, two teenage boys jumped into the water, swam to where the girls were and tried to keep their heads above water. Lifeguards later said that the teens were instrumental in saving the girls’ lives. One of their mothers gave one of the teen rescuers a huge bear hug in gratitude.

“It was big surf,” Grant remembered. “The girls could not swim or couldn’t swim very well, that’s for sure. And it just could’ve been a tragic event if those two guys didn’t happen to be here.” Grant got a shot of the dramatic rescue with responders hoisting one of the girls off the bottom of the cliffs.

Jim Grant just seems to be everywhere these days, looking for that great view to capture.