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New York teen hailed for saving classmate who drove into water

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Posted at 12:18 PM, Jun 20, 2022
and last updated 2022-06-20 15:49:15-04

A 17-year-old in New York is being hailed a hero after he dove into a long island bay to rescue a classmate.

Officials say she accidentally accelerated her SUV and plunged into the water.

"She was banging on the door, banging on the window, trying to break the window, of course," said Good Samaritan Anthony Zhongor. "And then 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, grab the door handle.”

They both tried to unlock and open the door, but it was stuck.

“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,” Zhongor said.

They swam to shore together.

“She just came up and said, ‘Oh my god, thank you,’ and was crying," Zhongor said. That’s all.”