HAMMOND, Ind. — A former Marine jumped into action in northwest Indiana last week to save two women from drowning. The heroic rescue was caught on camera.
Carlos Fernandez was driving near I-80 and Kennedy Avenue in Hammond on Thursday at around 6 p.m. when he noticed a black car right off the road and in the water.
"My original plan was, I was gonna grab my chain from the back of my truck and I was gonna pull the car out," Fernandez said. "I didn't know, it was anybody in the car and a gentleman yelled out, 'There's two people in the car!' And, as soon as I heard that, I instantly jumped in the water."
The video shows Fernandez carrying the women out of the water.
"They were both freaking out a little bit," he said. "They were both scared. You could tell there wasn't a lot of water at that point in time, but once I opened the door it became a lot of water."
All of it happened within about five minutes as he took three trips into the water to help the women before state police arrived.
"When I opened the door, one by one started coming out and I realized there were walkers in the back," Fernandez said. "One of the ladies had her foot stuck in the mud and she couldn't walk so I'm like, 'Alright, I'm carrying them out.'"
Fernandez said it can get really dark at night in the area where the crash happened and there aren't any signs up to warn drivers.
"I would like if they can even put one of those signs right here that states, 'Hey, you gotta turn this way because at night you can't see this.' Nobody knows this is here."
Fernandez said both of the women seemed to make it out without major injuries.
It's an act of heroism the Marine expects of himself.
"I just felt like it was the right thing to do. I think it was the Marine in me. Just, 'Hey, you always have to do the right thing,'" he said. "Something we preach in the Marine Corps is integrity, doing the right thing when nobody is looking."