An incredible video captures the courageous act of a Long Island teenage boy who selflessly jumped into a freezing bay to save a young woman who had driven her car into the water by mistake.
Just after 10 o’clock in the evening, a Subaru Outback was seen on surveillance video crashing into Patchogue Bay. According to Suffolk County police, driver Mia Samolinski, 18, hit the gas instead of the brake unintentionally on Tuesday.
The car fell straight into the waters.
Fortunately for her, Anthony Zhongor, 17, a fellow student at Patchogue-Medford High School who had just enlisted in the Marines, was there at that very moment to save the day (or night!).
“I just hear a huge splash and everyone running toward the dock,” Anthony recalled of the scary moment. “So I just jumped in.”
While others stood and watched, Anthony immediately dove into the bay.
The brave youngster, who didn’t know Samolinski or was aware they attended the same school, claimed he intervened because the driver “went pretty deep in there.” He knew how bad things could get if no one mustered up the courage to save the young woman.
“She was banging on the door, banging on the window, trying to break the window… that kind of got me nervous and scared for her,” the young hero recounted.
This urged him to do something.
“So I just took my clothes off and went into the water. I couldn’t watch anybody suffer in front of me,” he shared. It was easy to see that this teen has a heart of gold.
“Dying while suffocating is one of my worst fears, so I couldn’t imagine anyone going through that right in front of me,” he added.
Despite this, he doesn’t really see himself as a hero.
“I feel like anyone would make that decision,” he blurted out. But the video clearly showed how several people on the scene just stood there and watched. He was able to do what others were afraid to even try.
Eventually, Anthony was able to unlock the driver’s door, get Mia out of her car, and assist her in making it to the dock safely.
Indeed, the rescue was a total success!
“She just came up to me and said, ‘Oh my God, thank you’ and was crying,” he recounted of the moment he saved her schoolmate.
Charlie Samolinski, the father of the saved teen, saw the Marine recruit in person to express his gratitude.
The grateful father called Anthony “the real hero of the day.”
“A car can be replaced… my daughter? Irreplaceable,” he heartwarmingly said.
“There were a group of people on the dock. They were filming it—he did something about it,” he remarked.
While we couldn’t exactly blame those who didn’t jump in to rescue the young woman, their actions—or lack of thereof—only emphasized how brave and heroic Anthony was.
Watch the video below to witness how Anthony saved Mia from the sinking car.
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