A teenager and his friends are responsible for rescuing a man whose car fell into the river last Saturday, authorities said.
The teenager, Peter Schioppo, a 19-year-old from Guilford, Connecticut, was out on the dock on a Saturday night, hanging out with some friends-Dan Tucker, John Bishop, and Emily Taylor-when suddenly they saw a car: a black Buick that seemed to be idly entering the water.
"There were no brake lights on. We looked at each other, not believing it actually happened," Schioppo told the media "Then we all ran toward the dock. I called 911 and handed my phone off to one of them, and we all pulled the car toward the shore. That's when the front completely sank and hit the bottom. So I jumped in."
When he saw no other way to get the driver out, he simply opted to punch in one of the windows.
Schioppo, who at 5-foot-10 and 165 pounds, an equestrian, punched through the back window just as the car plunged five feet into the water. He then partially reached in and dragged the unconscious driver onto the trunk, whereupon he and his friends were able to pull the driver-in his fifties and wearing a dress shirt and tie- to the shore.
The 19-year-old Schioppo, who said that he had been in the first stages of hypothermia during his dramatic rescue effort, had been brought to the hospital for treatment, where doctors were shocked that he didn't even injure his hand-besides a tiny cut on one pinky finger. The teenager later laughed about the futility of his effort, forgetting that he had a crowbar in his car.
His parents are proud of him, "He downplayed the whole thing. Of course we're extremely proud," said Schioppo's father, Peter Schioppo I "He's a very stoic, laid-back type of kid. He did what he had to do. It's plain and simple with him. He doesn't look for accolades."
Meanwhile the driver has been arrested on charges for drunk driving, but has been freed on bond. He may have to rethink driving while intoxicated now, as it's not everyday you get pulled out of a sinking car by heroic teenagers.
© 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
