PATCHOGUE, Long Island (WABC) — A 17-year-old is being hailed as a hero after he dove right into a Long Island bay to rescue an 18-year-old classmate who had pushed into the water Tuesday night time.

It occurred simply after 10 p.m. at Patchogue Bay, off South Ocean Avenue, in Patchogue.

Police say Mia Samolinski was driving a Subaru Outback within the parking zone when she stepped on the gasoline pedal as an alternative of the brake and drove into the water.

A superb Samaritan, Anthony Zhongor, witnessed the incident and dove into the water.

“She went pretty deep in there,” Zhongor mentioned. “She was banging on the door, banging on the window, trying to break the window, of course, and that kind of got me nervous, scared for her, so I just took my clothes off and went into the water.”

He swam to the automobile, however with no time to spare, that they had to determine get Samolinski out of the car.

“The dive was pretty far because it was right there, as soon as I looked up, grabbed the door handle,” he mentioned.

They each tried to unlock and open the door, however with no luck, he mentioned he needed to discover one other manner.

That’s when he realized he may use his personal weight.

“My weight made the nose of the car go deeper into the water, which helped the back get free,” he mentioned. “And and we opened the back up, and she was able to escape through the back.”

They swam to shore collectively.

“She just came up to me and said, ‘Oh my God, thank you’ and was crying,” he mentioned. “It doesn’t matter who it was, they were suffering. I couldn’t watch anybody suffer in front of me.”

Samolinski’s father Charles met with Samolinski Wednesday.

“He jumped out of his car and jumped in, and because of that, my daughter is alive and and not really harmed,” he mentioned. “It’s a miracle.”

Samolinski and Zhongor, each of Patchogue, weren’t injured. It turned out they each attend Patchogue Medford High School, however that they had no thought they have been classmates.

The automobile was pulled from the bay by a heavy obligation wrecker.

Zhongor, who graduates subsequent week, lately joined the Marines and can head as well camp in South Carolina in September.

ALSO READ | Experts urge swim lessons, water safety to prevent child drownings

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