Terrifying moment mom is struck by rogue wave and dragged into ocean while taking stroll on beach

By JAMES GORDON, US NEWS REPORTER Published: 06:49, 24 August 2026 | Updated: 06:49, 24 August 2026 A California mom was dragged into the ocean and nearly drowned after a series of powerful waves suddenly crashed into her and her friends during what had begun as a peaceful stroll along the beach. Teresa Tran, 49, was walking with her best friends at Aliso Beach in Laguna Beach when the group was blindsided by the rough surf, repeatedly knocked from their feet and pulled into the water. Tran was eventually hauled from the ocean unconscious with only a faint pulse after suffering a heart attack during the terrifying ordeal, according to her daughter. Her final memory before losing consciousness was desperately trying to keep herself above water before becoming too exhausted to fight any longer. 'She was just thinking I need to keep trying. I need to keep trying,' her daughter Amanda Trinh told CBS Los Angeles. But Tran was swallowing increasing amounts of water as she struggled against the surf. 'Eventually she kept swallowing so much water, and she just gave up,' Trinh said. The horrifying incident unfolded on Saturday, August 15, after Tran met her friends for a walk along the sand at the picturesque Orange County beach. Teresa Tran, 49, nearly drowned and suffered a heart attack after powerful waves swept her into the ocean during a walk with friends at Aliso Beach An emergency helicopter landed directly on Aliso Beach after rescuers pulled Tran unconscious from the ocean The women were caught off guard when a powerful wave suddenly knocked them down. They attempted to recover and get back onto their feet, only to be hit again. Then came a third wave. 'They were trying to get up, and by the time they got up, a third one came out of nowhere, and they were knocked to their knees again,' Trinh recounted. Within moments, what had been a casual stroll had become an emergency. Witnesses watched in horror as the women struggled in the water against the current. Lifeguards immediately raced into the ocean to reach them. Tran's friends were eventually brought to safety, but Tran remained in grave danger. By the time rescuers reached the 49-year-old, she was unresponsive. Life guards pulled Tran from the ocean unconscious and desperately searched for a pulse, which her daughter said was ‘very faint' Tran regained consciousness after rescuers turned her over and she vomited up water she had swallowed during her fight to survive Her daughter later revealed on a GoFundMe page that her mother had suffered a heart attack while she was still in the water. Rescuers pulled Tran onto the sand and desperately worked to revive her as a rescue helicopter was summoned to the beach. 'She was still unconscious when they pulled her out so they were trying to find her pulse,' Trinh said. 'It was very faint and they flipped her over and that was when she vomited all of the water out and was able to regain consciousness after that.'  The helicopter landed directly on the sands before Tran was loaded aboard and airlifted to the hospital. 'By the grace of God and the incredible lifeguards, first responders, and medical teams who fought to save her, she survived,' Trinh wrote on the fundraiser.  The page was set up to help with expenses stemming from the emergency, including the helicopter evacuation and hospital treatment that will not be covered entirely by insurance.  Tran’s daughter Amanda Trinh said her mother has been left ‘horrified’ by the ordeal and is unlikely to venture near a body of water anytime soon Tran was taken to Mission Hospital, where doctors kept her under close observation following the near-drowning and cardiac emergency.  'This has been a frightening and unexpected experience for our family,' Trinh wrote. 'We are so grateful my mom is alive and receiving care.' Tran has since been released and is recuperating at home.  'She's horrified,' Trinh told CBS News. 'I don't think she's going to be going near any body of water for a while now.'