Good Samaritan Found Dead After Trying to Save Mom Whose Car Crashed Into River: 'True Hero'

San Joaquin County officials identified the man as Eddie Gerardo Cervantes Lora of Manteca

A Good Samaritan who went missing while trying to save a woman whose car crashed into a California river has been found dead.

California Highway Patrol’s Tracy Division said the victim’s body was found just before noon local time on Wednesday.

San Joaquin County officials have identified the man as 41-year-old Eddie Gerardo Cervantes Lora of Manteca, according to NBC affiliate KCRA-TV and CBS affiliate KOVR.

His body was found in the same area where Tuesday’s crash occurred off Airport Way, San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Heather Brent said, per ABC affiliate KXTV.

The SJCSO did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

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Cervantes Lora was one of multiple people who jumped into action Tuesday after a GMC carrying a mother and her 5-year-old daughter plunged into the river.

The man had gone back to help the mother after the young girl was brought back to shore, but disappeared upon going underneath the water’s surface, according to CHP Tracy.

"It just shows everyone in this community what a quick response and what a true hero is,” Brent said, per the outlets.

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The woman who was driving the car briefly lost consciousness after going under water, but was revived when medical personnel arrived on scene, according to the South San Joaquin County Fire Authority.

The driver sustained “major injuries” in the crash, CHP Tracy said. Both she and her 5-year-old daughter were transported to San Joaquin General Hospital following the river rescue.

It is still unclear why the car veered off the road and into the water.

Related: Body of Missing Fla. Woman Found Inside Submerged Car Days After She Was Last Seen at Bowling Alley

The child was not injured in the crash, but was transported to the hospital “for precautionary reasons," officials said.

The car involved in the wreck was pulled from the water around 7 p.m. local time on Tuesday, according to KCRA-TV.

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