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Navy Veteran Jumps Into Frigid Water To Save Woman Who Crashed Into New Jersey River

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BELLEVILLE, N.J. (CBS) -- A good Samaritan saved a woman after she crashed into the Passaic River in North Jersey. The woman struck a guardrail and went into the river in Belleville.

She got out through the roof of her car.

Navy veteran Michael James jumped into the water before her car floated away. James held her as tightly as he could, until police officers arrived and pulled them both out of the water.

"She was screaming that she couldn't swim and she wasn't lying," James said. "There really wasn't even an instant to decide, I just went, I didn't even think about it."

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Both the driver and James were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. They were treated for hypothermia.

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