An SUV slipped into the ocean behind a Virginia Beach restaurant on January 16, and within moments, the people eating lunch nearby became her lifeline.
The car sank fast. A woman was still inside. But before emergency responders could arrive, a group of strangers—including Jeremy Way, a Navy aviation rescue swimmer—had already jumped into the water and pulled her out.
"The car started to sink, and then two of these guys, these citizens, heroines, just lifted this person out of the water as the car was gone," said Dan Baker, manager of Bubba's Restaurant on Shore Drive, where the incident unfolded. "I mean, they just lifted this person out of the water. It was crazy. It was surreal."
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Start Your News DetoxWay had been eating at the restaurant when he spotted the SUV hit the water. His 17 years as a Navy aviation rescue swimmer kicked in—muscle memory and training that made the decision instant. He waded in alongside other diners who'd also rushed to help.
What followed was a tense few minutes of trying to reach the panicked driver. Way called to her to unlock the door, but fear had taken over. She tried to unlock it herself, fingers fumbling at the mechanism, but nothing worked. The vehicle continued its descent into the water.
Together, the group managed to extract her from the sinking car. Way held her close as they waited for EMS to arrive, offering the kind of steady presence that comes from someone who's trained for exactly this kind of moment.
"We've all been there," Way said later, reflecting on the rescue with the kind of understated calm that suggests he means it—that panic is human, that help is possible, that you move forward. "Got her out of the water, got myself out of the water, out of the boat, rather, and that was it. EMS took care of her after that point."
For Way, the rescue was simply an extension of the military motto that's guided his career: so others may live. But for the woman pulled from that sinking car, it was the difference between a bad day and a tragedy.
