SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — The California Highway Patrol in South Sacramento is commending one man's actions after he rescued a 69-year-old driver from a sinking SUV.
According to a Facebook post from CHP South Sacramento, a 69-year-old man was driving a 2008 GMC Acadia on Twin Cities Road around 10 a.m. Thursday. South Sacramento CHP says the GMC approached a T-intersection when the driver had a medical emergency and accelerated to 50 mph. The GMC continued through the intersection and flew into the Sacramento River.
As the GMC began to sink, the driver climbed to the top of the SUV and yelled to a nearby witness that he does not know how to swim.
39-year-old Chris Arias was nearby and saw what happened. CHP says Arias jumped into the river and swam to the GMC. He told the driver to hold onto his back and then swam to shore with the driver holding onto him.
"I was pretty scared, you know, when I first jumped in just because of the current and how cold it was," Arias told ABC10. "It was just a huge relief after being able to like touch the ground."
CHP says the driver was not injured in the collision but was taken to a nearby hospital as a precaution.
The driver told CHP that he would have died if it hadn't been for Arias. Arias has not fully processed the idea that he's someone's hero.
"I can't say that I thought about it for much, much of any time," Arias said. "I just kind of jumped in and, and tried to do what I can."
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