'I just jumped in the water': 19-year-old saves couple from submerged car after hit-and-run crash

A 19-year-old man jumped into action Monday after a dark-colored Nissan sideswiped another car in Florida, running it off the road and into a ravine, according to troopers.

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Alexander Miranda, 19, said water reached his chest and was filling the car when he jumped into the ravine to save a couple inside the vehicle.

He said the crash pushed the back end of the car toward the opposite bank of the ravine while the front end sank into the deepest waters. He struggled against the water and thick mud to get to the vehicle.

He said he pulled a 62-year-old man out of the driver’s side of the car then reached in to help the woman on the passenger side unbuckle her seat belt.

“I threw my shoes off, I jumped down and I just jumped into the water,” Miranda said. "The lady, she actually still had her seat belt on. So, I tried to reach in and took the seat belt off for her. Then I pulled her out of the driver's side, as well.”

The driver and passenger went to a hospital with minor injuries.

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