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Selfless, Quick Thinking Woman Saves Passenger In Overturned SUV

IRVING (CBSDFW.COM) - With the water of a creek quickly filling an overturned SUV, truck driver Tammy Stavricos had to act fast.

"I was so scared but I knew that they needed help and I was the one there to help them," said Stavricos.

While driving back from dropping off her cargo, Stavricos witnessed the SUV flip over a guardrail on Highway 114 where the vehicle ended overturned on a creek.

The passengers needed help.

"She was crying, 'please come help.' And I guess adrenaline takes over and you don't think about it," said Stavricos. "It's human lives down there, you know?"

A woman and a 13-year-old boy had just made it out of the SUV, but two other women were still stuck inside. One of the passengers could not move, so Stavricos held her head above water.

"She kept trying to pass out and I kept talking to her, shaking her because I knew if she did, she would drown," said Stavricos.

Paramedics eventually arrived, finishing off what Stavricos had started.

All four passengers are now recovering.

While she does not consider herself a hero as some have called her, Stavricos just hopes other do not just drive by the next time someone is in need.

"You know the next morning, you have to live with yourself. If you hear on the news about four fatalities you know on a flipped vehicle, people drowned," said Stavricos. "You have to live with yourself."

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