'He's A Hero': Hillsborough Teen Jumps Into Creek To Save Woman's Life In Ida Flooding

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Hanging out the sunroof of her car as rapids of floodwaters washed her downstream, Jessi Andruzzi thought this was it for her. She thought she was going to die. (See video below)

That was when 19-year-old Devin Arriaga came to her rescue.

"I just wanna share my story cause Devin is a HERO," said Andruzzi.

On Sept. 1, Hurricane Ida brought a historic amount of rain in such a short period of time causing flooding all over the area.

Andruzzi, a 25-year-old tattoo artist, was leaving work at Rorschach Gallery on Route 206 in Hillsborough. With Route 206 flooded she decided to try some back roads to get back to her home in Manville.

"I have never really been back there. I didn't really know what it was like. I didn't know about the creek or it flooding the whole area back there," said Andruzzi.

She took a turn on Gemini Drive when the lines on the roadway started disappearing. She thought it was because it was just raining really hard.

Up ahead she could see a puddle but didn't realize the road dipped down. As she was driving through the next thing she knew water was filling her car.

"I knew I was f*cked when I felt the water coming up my legs," said Andruzzi. "I started to panic."

Then the water just picked up her car and began pulling her into the creek. That's when the lights on her dashboard started blinking and all of the electrical began flickering.

"I knew I had to roll down my windows now," said Andruzzi.

But, the windows wouldn't go down. Luckily the sunroof still worked and she climbed through it.

See the video Andruzzi took as she sat on the roof of her car filled with water. (Warning the video contains profanity):

In the video, you can hear the fear in Andruzzi's voice as she screams hysterically, "I'm f*cking scared! I'm crying! Oh man, my car is filled with f*cking water! What the f*ck!"

Andruzzi immediately called her boyfriend who was going to try to get out to her and then she called 911.

She called 911 about 10 times and only got a busy signal.

"I literally just started screaming at the top of my lungs, freaking out," said Andruzzi. "I was yelling for 15 minutes."

There were some people watching from the ground and some yelling at Andruzzi to jump from her car and swim to shore.

There was no way she was going to try and swim. Andruzzi said that the way the current was moving she thought she would get washed away.

"There were literally rapids in water. It was really bad," said Andruzzi.

It was then that Devin Arriaga and his mom Denise were on their way into their basement on Gemini Drive that had begun to flood.

Arriaga heard Andruzzi's screams and took off.

"I didn't even know where he went. I just looked behind me and he was gone," said Denise Arriaga.

Arriaga called out to Andruzzi and jumped into the water.

"I heard a voice behind the trees saying 'I'm here to help' and I started balling my eyes out," said Andruzzi.

He yanked Andruzzi out of the car and carried her to a nearby fence. They had to hold onto the fence to keep from getting washed away.

"I kept letting go of the fence and he would grab me. The water kept pulling my legs. If he wasn't there I would've went under," said Andruzzi.

The two used the fence to make it back to land and into his home.

Denise gave her a towel, gave her dry clothes and offered her food and water but Andruzzi refused. She was still in shock.

"She was just shaken up. She didn't even want to take a shower that night," said Andruzzi's dad Joseph.

"She was afraid of the water. It was a traumatic experience," said Andruzzi's stepmom Mary McGuire.

Denise Arriaga was very proud of her son especially after hearing that two people died in the floodwater in Hillsborough.

"The stories of those that drowned in their cars and lost everything have had me emotional all day, especially knowing they BOTH could have died but perhaps one less person did because of him. I am so proud of my son for his actions. He is 19 and risked his life for others. He is my hero for today," said Denise Arriaga.

Andruzzi's parents were also especially grateful to Devin and want to "just hug him."

"He came out of nowhere and brought her back to safety. He's a hero. Obviously, he is very brave and didn't even think about his safety because no one going to her rescue. He is someone who deserves recognition," said McGuire.

"I am emotional just thinking back. It reverberates with me how she must've felt to hear his voice coming for her. It is emotional to hear the story. What happened if the kid wasn't there?" said Joseph Andruzzi.

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