One of them died, the other is in critical condition. And the man who jumped in is 65 years old.
It happened in Bay Shore.
Long Island reporter Emily Smith has the story.
One of the two men who jumped in the water to help spoke to Eyewitness News, and John Cabral says if it wasn't for clammers like himself just hanging around the docks, he wonders if anyone would have survived.
"If you're going to take any, take one and leave one," Cabral said.
That was his prayer Monday night for two elderly woman trapped for nearly a half hour in the nearly frozen Great South Bay after their red Ford sedan somehow plunged over the dock at the marina. It landed upside down in the water.
"How can you watch a person die?" he asked. "If you can prevent it, it'd be great."
Cabral and another man heard the crash around 3:30 p.m. and immediately jumped into the water.
Jack Berity made the 911 call, saying police arrived in minutes, making no hesitation to save lives.
"Just out of the car and in the water," he said. "Uniform and everything."
Cabral says he and the other man managed to pull an elderly woman out of the water. But he says she was unresponsive and they couldn't tell if she was even alive.
"He reached down, and he thought he had a cushion," Cabral said. "Then when he came up, it was a lady that came up. She was face down, and I dragged her to the car and we both managed to get her on top of the car."
At the same time, police broke into the vehicle and found a second elderly woman. She was trapped in the car for more than 20 minutes.
After spending the same amount of time in the bay, Cabral needed emergency care. And according to Berity, he needed it fast.
"I got a blanket and covered him up," Berity said. "He was blue. The man is 65 years old, and I'm 66. At our age, you have to be careful."
Today, Cabral showed us a little bundle of flowers he plans to leave at the dock in memory of the life lost. That's, he says, if and when he finds the courage to go back to the place he'll now remember for tragedy rather than beauty.
Cabral says he hasn't been able to speak to the other civilian, Greg Vegal, who also jumped in. He modestly says Vegal should get any and all of the credit and wants to say thank you.
Police have not released the names of the victim or the survivor. They are apparently having trouble reaching family members.
