Heroic teen jumps into icy cold lake in an attempt to rescue stranger who drove car into the water

The world is full of unsung heroes who are living embodiments of empathy and courage. A lot of such heroic stories on the internet offer a ray of hope during gloomy times. Especially, stories of strangers going out of their way to save someone's life are always inspiring. One such incident from Arizona recently caught the internet's attention where a young boy took a daring leap to save a drowning stranger. According to Fox 10 Phoenix, sixteen-year-old Ethan Cakmak was just back from school when his father, Erkan Cakmak, noticed a car veered into a nearby lake with the driver still inside. 

When the teen's father was working from home, he heard a loud "plump" On seeing the drowning car, the father and son rushed outside to the lake. Noticing that the driver was unconscious, the dad quickly dialed 911. But, the teen didn't want to wait for the emergency services and so took a plunge into the lake caring the least about the cold, dirty water. "I realized that he needed help, he might drown. So, I ran outside, through the gate, took my shirt off, took everything out of my pockets and jumped into the water," Ethan said. 

As the high school student swam toward the car underneath the lake, he saw "the guy with his chin on his chest bobbing up and down." Ethan figured out from the man's troubled breathing that he was still alive, so he banged the car's widow repeatedly. However, the man's consciousness was lost and he didn't open his eyes or respond to the knock. The teen also tried breaking open the window, but no luck. So, he thought that the best thing to do was to swim back to the land and wait for emergency services to work on it. Meanwhile, the first responders were dispatched after the dad's call and they rescued the man from the car and took him to the hospital.

Chandler's Police Sgt. Ricky Gonzales stated, "I think that's awesome. It goes to show that we're out here looking out for each other. Not just us, PD and fire, but also our private citizens. That's pretty cool." The father-son duo were lauded for their timely efforts and the son's brave act impressed the first responders. The Chandler Unified School District honored Ethan in an X post saying, "We're proud to say this is a @Hamilton_High student who rushed to help a driver in need. Ethan Cakmak perfectly embodied empathy, one of our Portrait of a Learner traits."

Sharing a powerful message, Ethan told the news channel, "Online, I see videos every once in a while of similar things happening to people where people are in danger or in need. People just ignore what's going on around them. I think as humans we need to be a community for each other and be there for each other when they need help. Help people when you can." As per ABC 15, the man who was rescued is still receiving intensive care in the hospital and the Chandler PD, who are investigating the reason for the crash, believe that the crash into the lake might've been due to a medical issue.