The driver had been drinking before crashing in the East River

Sep 25, 2013 13:46 GMT  ·  By

A teenager from Guilford, Connecticut is being dubbed a hero after saving a man from a sinking vehicle.

Peter Schioppo II punched through the back window of the vehicle to get to the victim of the crash.

He describes being on an East River dock with three friends before noticing the vehicle plummet into the water.

“There were no brake lights on. We looked at each other, not believing it actually happened,” he tells ABC News.

The three teens grabbed the car and tried to push it to shore as it was sinking, but it was completely submerged in instants.

“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,” Schioppo adds.

He tried to break the rear side window but he was unable to do so. He went to the back of the vehicle, punched through the back window and rescued the driver.

“[I was] then able to climb in partially and grab him and pull him out onto the trunk. Then I handed him off to Dan and Josh and they pulled him onto the dock. Twenty seconds later, the car completely sank into the water,” he recalls.

He was not severely injured, getting away with nothing but a small cut.

“I think I was in the first stage of hypothermia so they took me to the hospital, but I was fine. [...] On my hand, the only thing I got was a small cut on my pinky. But no break or fracture. I didn’t really feel much. The doctor at the ER was shocked I didn’t break my hand,” Schioppo says.

Sgt. Dane Lawrence of the Guilford Police Department details that the motorist has been charged with drunk driving and released after posting bond.