Illinois Man Saves Drowning Driver, Proving Everyday Heroes Exist

Try to remember the name Tino Mora, because he's an actual, real-life hero.

The word hero gets thrown around way too much in today's world, especially when the word doesn't even fit. Hitting homeruns or throwing touchdown passes may make someone a sports hero, but saving a drowning driver from certain death makes you a real hero, especially when you're not a first responder--you're a landscaper.

Naperville residents are still buzzing over the actions of Tino Mora, a true Good Samaritan, that took place Wednesday morning at a pond near the intersection of Royal Worlington Drive and Route 59 in unincorporated Naperville. When others didn't act, he did.

According To Witnesses, The Plainfield Fire Protection District (PFPD), and the Naperville Fire Department (NFD), Here's What Happened

A traffic accident at the intersection caused the driver of an SUV to veer off the road, directly into a nearby pond, where the SUV began to submerge. Witnesses say the woman driving the SUV began pounding on the windows, screaming for help. She later told authorities that she doesn't know how to swim.

That's when Tino Mora, a landscaper who had just finished mowing the area around the pound, knew he had to spring into action before it was too late.

WGNTV.com:

“The SUV started sinking in the front, and everybody tells her, ‘Jump in the back, jump in the back,’” so she jumped in the back and when she jumped in the back she started drowning,” Mora said. “Everybody was looking, and I said nobody’s gonna do anything? I started to see the SUV sinking and I say, ‘there’s no time for the paramedics right now. If I don’t pull her out, she’s gonna drown.”

Mora said he feels he was in the right place at the right time, and despite praise from first responders and residents, he doesn’t feel like a hero.

As you might imagine, others disagree with him on that point.

The Pond's Water Is Over 6 Feet Deep And Murky, And The Driver Couldn't Swim--A Deadly Combination In Most Cases, According To First Responders At The Scene

After Tino Mora made his way out to the sinking vehicle, he opened a door which caused water to flood into the SUV. He managed to grab hold of the woman's coat and lift her head out of the water, then continued holding her up until first responders arrived on the scene shortly afterward.