Brighten Your Day

Teen Hero Dives Into Water, Saves Woman Trapped In Sinking Car

June 18, 2022

A 17-year-old in Long Island, NY, is being hailed a hero after diving into the water at night to save a woman whose SUV plunged into Patchogue Bay.

Teen's rescue of woman who drove into bay captured on video

Surveillance video captured the dramatic rescue of 18-year-old Mia Samolinski after she drove her car into the bay.

Samolinski had accidentally pressed the gas pedal instead of the brakes, the Suffolk County Police Department said in a press release.

Anthony Zhongor, 17, dove into water shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday to pull Samolinski from her SUV.

"I just hear a huge splash and everyone running toward the dock," Zhongor told CBS News. He and a group of onlookers could hear the young woman struggling to exit the car as it began to sink.

"That's what really made me jump in the water, because she was banging on door trying to break it, kind of got scared. So I just jumped in," Zhongor said.

Zhongor was able to open the driver's side door of the Suburu, help Samolinski out of the vehicle and assist her safely to the dock.

"The real hero of the day is Anthony, without a doubt. There were a group of people on the dock. They were filming it. He did something about it," the woman's father, Charlie Samolinski, said.

"She's here today because of him. A car can be replaced. Things can be replaced. My daughter? Irreplaceable."

Watch the video below.