Transcript of Helmet cam video shows dramatic rescue of dog and man during Hurricane Helene

And the dramatic new video that you just saw in Derek's report of the man and his dog being rescued. Well, this video is from the helmet cam of a Coast Guard rescue swimmer who saved them both. He's our guest tonight. We have his exclusive full video of the rescue, so let's watch how it unfolded. Out front now, Petty Officer, second class, Ted Hudson. His first interview since that daring rescue took place. Officer Hudson, it's terrifying to look at that. The wind and the waves going down from the helicopter, hoisting him up to rescue him. The man and dog were still on their boat. You arrive. Then what happened?

We showed up on scene and we assessed the situation. We immediately got me ready to go out the door. The flight mechanic patted on the edge of the helicopter for me to come out and get ready to go down. So they put me on the hoist and hoist me down, and away I went.

I mean, away you went. I mean, it's terrifying, and it's incredible to see. So you go down. This is shot by your helmet cam. You see how high the waves are. You're literally looking down and then suddenly just going into those waves and then immediately start swimming to rescue. What was that like?

It was a pretty... I think my adrenaline kicked in, and I was just going. I didn't have to think about it too much. I've been in situations, in training situations in Oregon, where I've been in big waves like that. I just didn't think about it. Kicked in, swam over the boat, and I started telling them to get in the water so we can get this done as soon as possible because the helicopter is in 60-mile-an-hour winds. The pilots have to control that the whole time. So it was a dangerous situation to be in, and I was just trying to get out of there as fast as possible.

It was incredible. 60-mile-an-hour winds, and you went down. The dog, obviously, was terrified. How difficult is it to save an animal in that situation? I mean, just an animal who's in complete terror.

Honestly, I was super happy to be able to save a dog. I've always seen people do it, and finally got to do it. The dog was a little skeptical I was very skeptical at first to jump in, and then he finally decided that he had to jump in, and he swam right to me. So it wasn't really that bad. He swam right to me, and I just held on to his little life best, and he seemed to do good from there.

So then there's a moment later in the video, let me just show this, where the man reaches over to you to thank you. I mean, you saved this man's life in that moment of just complete stress and shock. What did he say?

He just said, Thank you for saving his life. Later, he got on. He put a headset on and started talking to us through the helicopter. And he said, When he called the Coast Guard, that's when he decided to live.

Then you were able to give him that incredible gift. I mean, he had to abandon his home to save his life. Where did he go after you landed and he went on his way?

Yeah, so we totally understood the seriousness of that situation that he left his home. So immediately, Sector St. Pete, which is our call people, and they organized the fire department to come and pick him up and make sure he was It was really a massive wave.

We have a second rescue when you went right back out. So you saved this person's life, 60-mile-an-hour winds. You dive into the ocean, the massive waves, and then you go back out. You rescued two more people who were trapped on their boat. What How did it happen then?

We actually had two rescue swimmers on board. The other one's not here right now. Ben Barden was the other guy. You see him in the other video. He actually went down first, and there was two people on that train bridge, I guess it was. And he went down and he called back on the radio and said it would probably help if Teddy came down and we can carry this lady along the tracks steps together. So I went down to help.

Officer, how does it feel to save a life?

I say it feels pretty good. It's what I joined to do, and that's what we all want to do. Some people don't get to do it, and I say it's a privilege.

Well, thank you so much for sharing that video with us in those moments. Really appreciate it, officer. Thank you.

Thank you.