Falls Church resident Jim Saulsbury suddenly found himself called on for heroic action around lunchtime this Monday. He was calmly walking beside the man-made lake on Fairview Park Drive when he heard a crash. A car had been t-boned by another and was meandering slowly toward the lake.

It plowed into the water and began to sink. Saulsbury said he had no choice and that it was a “natural reaction” to dive in and help the driver extricate herself. Waist deep in water, when he got to her, he found her dazed and motionless. With the help of a second Good Samaritan, who turned out to be a doctor, Saulsbury removed the woman’s seatbelt and gingerly moved her out of the car, out of the lake, over a stone wall, with the help of others by then, and to a lawn beside the lake. There, paramedics appeared shortly to transport her to the hospital.

Inova Hospital reported to the News-Press that she remains hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries.

Saulsbury has been a resident of The Byron in Falls Church for two years, and works at the 2020 Company LLC.