Elyse Lowe

July 3, 2022. Moss Point, Mississippi. A car carrying 3 teenage girls drives down the I-10 boat launch and plunges straight into the Pascagoula River. The driver later tells police she was following her GPS. She had no idea it was leading her off the edge and into the water. By the time she realizes what's happening, the car is already floating. Then sinking. The vehicle drifts 20 feet from shore. Then more. The girls climb onto the roof of the car as it goes under. The water is black. It is the middle of the night. And the Pascagoula River is known for one other thing most people don't think about until it's too late. Alligators. Corion Evans, age 16, a student at Pascagoula High School, is nearby when it happens. He hears the girls screaming for help. He doesn't hesitate for a single second. He throws down his phone. Pulls off his shoes. Strips off his shirt. And jumps in. He later says: I was just like, I can't let none of these folks die. They need to get out the water. So I just started getting them. I wasn't even thinking about nothing else. The car is nearly submerged. The girls are panicking. The water is deep and dark and moving. Corion swims out — 25 yards from shore — and reaches them. His friend Karon Bradley, known as KJ, jumps in right behind him. Together they help get the girls onto the surface of the sinking car. But here is what most people miss: Corion doesn't just help them float. He swims them back. 1 at a time. Into shore. Through the dark water. With legs that are burning and lungs that are working as hard as they ever have. 2 girls make it to shore. The 3rd can't swim. She is still on the roof when a responding officer arrives. Moss Point Police Officer Gary Mercer swims out to help. He reaches the remaining girl and begins pulling her toward shore. Then the girl panics. She grabs him. She pulls him under. Officer Mercer begins to drown. Corion turns around. He sees the officer going under. He hears him calling for help. He is already exhausted. His legs are already spent. He has already pulled 2 people through 25 yards of alligator-infested river in the dead of night. He swims back out. He grabs Officer Mercer. He says later: I went and I grabbed the police officer and I'm like swimming him back until I feel myself I can walk. All 4 people make it to shore alive. Officer Mercer and all 3 girls are taken to the hospital. All of them recover. Chief Brandon Ashley of the Moss Point Police Department later says publicly: If Mr. Evans had not assisted, it could have possibly turned out tragically instead of all occupants rescued safely. Moss Point Mayor Billy Knight presents Corion with a certificate of commendation from the city. He says: We are proud of the young man for having the courage to forget about himself and jump into the water. It's not often enough that you see people put others above themselves. The recognition doesn't stop there. The Mississippi Senate formally commends Corion Evans by name in Senate Resolution 32 of the 2023 legislative session — a rare honor for a teenager from a small town. His mother, Marquita Evans, speaks to reporters afterward. She says: 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. I'm glad nothing happened to him while he was trying to save other people's lives. Corion tells reporters he has been swimming since he was 3 years old. He is asked if he was scared. He says: Anything could've been in that water. But I wasn't thinking about it. That is the part that stays with you. He knew the risks. The darkness. The distance. The wildlife beneath the surface. The weight of another person pulling you under. He knew all of it and he swam out anyway. Not once. Not twice. Three times. 4 people are alive today because a 16-year-old boy decided, without hesitating for even a moment, that strangers were worth saving.