Man Honored for Saving Single Mom From Alligator-Infested Pond After 2023 Crash: 'You're a Hero'

Dwayne Hingos “heroically” jumped into action in October 2023 after hearing the crash while outside his company's warehouse, officials said

• Dwayne Hingos was honored by the City of Auburndale in Florida on Monday, more than three months after he rescued a woman from an alligator-infested pond

• Tamara Huber-Lucas experienced a medical episode that caused her car to veer into the water
  

• The Lakeland woman got to thank Hingos for his heroics at Monday's meeting

A Florida man has been honored for his heroics after rescuing a woman from a car that was sinking into an alligator-infested pond late last year.

Dwayne Hingos “heroically” jumped into action on Oct. 18, 2023, after hearing a car crash into the pond, according to government officials from the City of Auburndale, where the accident occurred.

Hingos was standing outside his company’s warehouse when Tamara Huber-Lucas had a medical episode that resulted in her car veering into a nearby retention pond, according to ABC affiliate WFTS-TV.

The single mom from Lakeland was on her way to pick up her 18-month-old child from daycare when the incident occurred.

Related: Woman Rescued After Sitting on Top of Overturned Car in Calif. Floodwaters for Nearly 15 Hours

Hingos ran several dozen yards before reaching what WFTS-TV described as an alligator-infested body of water. He then “swam to the vehicle and discovered the distressed driver inside,” city officials said.

The heroic man helped get Huber-Lucas to safety by pulling her through the car’s open sunroof moments before the vehicle sank.

“The angel God sent me just kept telling me to go to the sunroof. Go to the sunroof!” Huber-Lucas said. “And that angel was Mr. Dewayne.”

Related: Montana Woman Rescued After Her Car Is Found Upside Down in Yellowstone River

City officials praised Hingos on Facebook for demonstrating “exceptional bravery and composure” during “a critical moment of distress” that day.

“His decisive action, while putting his own personal safety at risk, undoubtedly saved a precious human life,” officials added.

Hingos said he never imagined being in this position. “If my family was in this situation, I’d want somebody to do the same thing,” he added, per WFTS-TV.

Related: Police Officer Saves Child Who Fell Through Ice After Crawling onto Frozen Pond in Arkansas

Hingos was honored for efforts at the Auburndale City Commission meeting Monday night. He also got to reunite with Huber-Lucas.

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“You’re a hero. I don’t even know how to thank you,” Huber-Lucas said, per WFTS-TV. She also told him, “You saved the whole family.”

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