Dwayne Hingos was on break last fall outside Medline’s Auburndale, Florida distribution center when he saw an accelerating car veer off the road, crash through a line of trees and bushes, and drive into a retention pond on the property.

Hingos, a dispatcher for MedTrans, Medline’s transportation fleet, directed a coworker to call 911 before running—the length of a football field—toward the car. With help from MedTrans Driver David Jennings, Hingos was able to force open a gate providing access to the alligator-inhabited pond. He then jumped into the deep water, pulling the driver—Tamara Huber-Lucas—from the open sunroof of the sinking vehicle. He carried her to shore and waited for paramedics to arrive.

For his “exceptional bravery and composure,” the City of Auburndale recently honored Hingos during a City Commission meeting. In the commendation signed by Auburndale Mayor Dorothea Taylor Borger and other elected officials, Hingos was lauded for “unselfishly” swimming to the driver and pulling her to safety.

“After your heroic rescue of the driver, the vehicle did fully submerge,” the commendation continued. “In a critical moment of distress, you demonstrated exceptional bravery and composure. Your decisive action, while putting your personal safety at risk, undoubtedly saved a precious human life. On behalf of the entire community, I would like to express my deepest appreciation for your extraordinary act of bravery and selflessness.”

According to an ABC Action News (WFTS Tampa Bay) segment, Huber-Lucas was at the City Commission meeting, tearfully hugging Hingos and telling him: “You’re a hero. I don’t even know how to thank you.”

Huber-Lucas, a single mom, was on her way to pick up her 18-month-old son from daycare when she suffered a medical episode, according to the broadcast story.

“If my family was in this situation, I’d want somebody to do the same thing,” Hingos said. “I’ve never even thought that I’d do something like this. It just — I don’t know — it just happened.”

“Some people will watch, some will call 911, but there’s that 1% of people that will act,” said Tim Byrd, MedTrans manager. “Dwayne is in that 1%, and we’re lucky to have him. He said he was just doing what anyone else would do, but that is not true; he went far above and beyond that day, and he is a hero.”

Learn more about Medline employees making a difference in their communities.