OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KGTV) — More than three weeks after a woman’s quick actions helped save an injured surfer off an Oceanside beach, she returned to the shore for a moment of recognition.
Benita Karo received a certificate of recognition from the California State Senate honoring her heroism and bravery. A representative for state Sen. Catherine Blakespear presented Karo with the award near Oceanside Boulevard Beach.
“Thank you. I’m truly honored,” Karo said.
Karo first spoke with ABC 10News reporter Ava Kershner in late September, recounting how a trip to the beach turned into a rescue.
She had been recording video of high surf impacted by Hurricane Polo when she spotted a surfer about 10 to 15 feet from shore.
“He was walking to exit, saw the big wave coming at him. I saw this wave and he had no idea,” Karo recalled.
The wave slammed the surfer into the rocks. Moments later, she said, the man was face down in the water.
Karo called out to bystanders for help before wading into the water herself. At one point, she held the man’s face above the water.
First responders arrived, and the surfer was taken to an emergency room.
About six days later, Karo was invited by “Inside Edition” to reunite with the man in his hospital room.
“First thing I did, I ran and hugged him,” Karo said. “He said, ‘You saved my life.’”
Karo said the surfer, a 75-year-old man from Las Vegas, suffered fractures to his skull and face. She said he was released from the hospital about a week later.
According to Karo, doctors told her the timing of her intervention helped protect him from brain damage.
Karo said she is now texting with the man’s wife and plans to stay in touch with the couple.
“I just feel very connected to him and his wife now,” she said.
As for the certificate, Karo said she plans to frame it because it represents a life-changing experience.
While the recognition cites her heroism and courage, Karo said she believes she was simply in the right place at the right time.
“I just feel like I did something that I would want someone else to do for me,” she said.
This article was generated from a broadcast script with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and edited for web publication.
