Video shows 17-year-old diving into bay to save classmate who accidentally drove SUV into water

According to reports, the teen girl accidentally pressed the accelerator in her SUV and plunged into the bay.

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Friday, June 17, 2022
Video: Teen saves classmate who accidentally drove SUV into water
Anthony Zhongor, who recently joined the Marines, saw the SUV in the water and quickly jumped into help.

NEW YORK (KABC) -- A 17-year-old in Long Island jumped into action when he dove into a bay to save his classmate after she accidentally drove into the water - and the incredible rescue was caught on video.



According to reports, the teen girl accidentally pressed the accelerator in her SUV and plunged into the bay.



Anthony Zhongor, who recently joined the Marines, saw the SUV in the water and immediately took action.



"She went pretty deep in there," he said. "She was banging on the door, banging on the window, trying to break the window, of course. That kind of got me nervous, scared for her. I took my clothes off and went into the water. The dive was pretty, pretty far, so it was just right there soon as I looked up, grabbed the door handle."



The wild rescue was caught on video.



The footage shows the SUV quickly plunging into the water. A group of people begin surrounding the area and if you look closely, you can see Zhongor jumping in.



During the rescue, Zhongor and the girl tried to unlock and open the door, but were unsuccessful.



Zhongor said he knew he had to find another way to get out.



That's when he realized he could use his own weight.



"Weight made the nose of the car to go deeper into the water, which helped the back get free and open the back up, and she was able to escape from the back," he said.



The classmates were able to swim back to shore together - safely.



"She just came up and said, 'Oh my God, thank you,' and was crying. That's all," said Zhongor.



The teen girl didn't want to speak about the incident on camera, but her father spoke out and recently met with Zhongor for the first time.



"He jumped out of his car and jumped in and because of that, my daughter is alive and not really harmed, you know? I mean, it's a miracle," said the girl's father.



Zhongor is set to graduate high school next week and will be heading to South Carolina in September for boot camp.



He said no matter who may be in danger, he'll always step in to help.



"It's a girl, it doesn't matter who it was ... they were suffering," said Zhongor. "I couldn't watch anybody suffer in front of me."



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