A Teen’s Heroic Dive: How a 17-Year-Old Saved His Classmate from a Sinking Car

It’s one of those incredible stories that proves heroes are real. 17-year-old Anthony Zhongor’s split-second decision led to a teen’s heroic dive, saving a young woman’s life in a moment of pure terror. It was an act of selfless courage, a protective instinct as powerful as any seen in animals, and it changed two lives forever.

A Calm Night Shattered

The scene was a quiet dock on Long Island. It was a warm June evening, around 10 PM. Anthony Zhongor was sitting in his parked car, enjoying the peace of the still water. That peace was suddenly shattered by the sound of tires skidding on wood, followed by a violent, terrible splash.

Anthony jumped out of his car and ran to the edge of the dock. His heart pounded. He saw a car in the dark water, and it was sinking fast. Inside, he could see a figure frantically pounding on the door and window, trapped. “She went pretty deep in there,” Anthony later recalled. “She was hitting the door and trying to break the window, and that really made me nervous and scared for her.”

A Split-Second Decision to Act

There was no time to wait for help. Anthony didn’t just stand there; he acted. He tore off his clothes, dove into the dark, cold water, and swam as fast as he could toward the sinking car.

When he reached the vehicle, the situation was even more desperate than it looked. The water pressure made it impossible to open the doors, and the driver, 18-year-old Mia Samolinski, was panicking. Anthony realized he couldn’t pull her out. He had to think fast. In a moment of incredible, clear-headed thinking, he came up with a plan. He swam to the front of the car, put his feet on the sinking hood, and pushed down with all his strength.

His plan worked. By forcing the nose of the car deeper, the rear of the vehicle was forced upward, lifting the tailgate just above the water’s surface. The back clicked open, and Mia scrambled free from the rapidly flooding car.

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A Hero’s Humility

Anthony helped a shaken and crying Mia swim back to the dock. “She just came up to me and said, ‘Oh my God, thank you,’ and was crying,” he remembered. Mia later explained she had tragically mistaken the gas pedal for the brake.

In a strange twist of fate, Anthony and Mia were classmates at the same high school, though they had never met. It was a chance encounter that saved a life.

When asked about his bravery, Anthony’s response showed his true character. “It didn’t matter who it was,” he said simply. “I couldn’t just stand by and watch someone suffer like that.”

This humble hero, who had just performed a teen’s heroic dive and saved a life, graduated from high school just days later. Shortly after, he signed up for the U.S. Marines, a path that seemed perfectly suited for his character. His recruiter summed it up best: “Zhongor’s selflessness and quick thinking really show the kind of person we look for to earn the title Marine.”

Anthony’s story is a powerful reminder that heroes aren’t just in the movies. Sometimes, they are 17-year-old kids, sitting in a car, who choose to dive into the darkness when someone else’s life is on the line.