Teen Rescues 2 Other Teens From Sinking Car In Mahopac
MAHOPAC, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A teenage boy selflessly came to the rescue of two teen girls when their car flipped and landed upside down in a lake in Mahopac.
"The car started filling up with water," Julia Brower said. "We didn't know the car flipped upside down, I didn't know where I was."
Panic and confusion gripped the 17-year-old, like the mud from Lake Mahopac still stuck on the sedan, CBS2's Tony Aiello reported.
Brower was a passenger in the car when her friend lost control, hit a utility pole and rolled over a dock Thursday evening.
"I just screamed 'help!' like bloody murder screamed 'help,'" Brower said.
Cullen Malzo, 19, heard the accident from his home across the street and ran to take a look.
"I was on the shore screaming at the car," he said.
Malzo said he was so frazzled by what he saw, he accidentally punched 911 into his phone's calculator.
He made the call, and then made a big decision.
"I shed my jacket and my shoes and I jumped in, and the mud went up to about my chin," he said.
While Malzo struggled through the thick mud, Brower and her friend struggled to stay calm in the air pocket that was keeping them alive.
"I was like 'oh my goodness, this is like a nightmare and a movie all in one,'" she said.
Malzo reached the car and felt for an open window.
"I reach in and I feel an arm, and it immediately grabs me back," he said.
"All of a sudden, I saw his hand, I just grabbed it. I was like, can I fit through the window? I don't know," Brower said.
After rescuing Brower, Malzo pulled her friend to safety too.
"We had a nice group hug in the middle of the lake, and then we made it to shore," he said. "They were very thankful, very appreciative, felt good knowing they were safe."
There were no serious injuries.
"Who would jump into the lake with cold water like that? Everything worked out well, thank god," Brower's father told Aiello.
Police said the driver was going too fast on a winding road.