'True heroism': Meet the man who dove into a river to rescue a motorist

SALISBURY, Md. – People are calling a Maryland man a hero after he dove into the Wicomico River to rescue a driver.

Andrew Lunn, 52, a nurse at Anchorage Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Salisbury, says he was arriving to work Tuesday afternoon when he saw a vehicle go into the water. That's when he sprung into action.

"I didn't have the option of waiting for 911 because within the response time, the car would have been underwater," Lunn said. "I had to assess the situation to figure out the best way that both of us could have made it out of there alive."

He enlisted the help of his fellow employees, who threw life preservers into the water and called 911. Meanwhile, Lunn was instructing the driver to unbuckle his seat belt and roll his window down.

Lunn then threw a preserver into the water and immediately dove in. He was able to pull the driver out through the window.

Deborah Benton, who works with Lunn, said his courageous feat left her speechless.

"It's true heroism, honestly, to do that for someone that you don't even know without even giving it a second thought," Benton said.

First responders arrived at the scene before 2:30 p.m.

Salisbury Police Capt. Rich Kaiser said the vehicle was parked by the river when the driver backed into the water.

Police believe the 55-year-old driver accidentally hit the gas with the car in reverse, according to Kaiser.

If those employees hadn't been there at the time, Benton said the situation could have taken a tragic turn.

"It was just huge teamwork right there. I mean ... it was amazing," Benton said.

Salisbury Police praised Lunn's action in a tweet Tuesday.

"Thanks to the quick thinking of an Anchorage Nursing Home employee, the 55 yo operator of this vehicle only suffered minor injuries as a result of accidentally backing into the Wicomico River from the Anchorage Nursing home side of the river," the Tweet reads.

Lunn, who's not used to all the attention he's getting, said his kids already consider him a hero – and that's enough for him.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: 'True heroism': Meet the man who dove into a river to rescue a motorist