Movie ends and couple steps outside to find cars submerged in flash flood, but Florida teen’s split-second decision makes him a hero

An 18-year-old from Florida is being called a hero after he rescued several drivers who got stuck in a flash flood. Thomas Ruzzano was at the Mizner Park movie theater in Boca Raton with his girlfriend. While they were inside watching their movie, a bad storm started outside.

According to People, the storm was really strong and dropped eight inches of rain on the city. There was also heavy wind and lightning. When Ruzzano and his girlfriend walked out of the theater after their movie finished, they saw that the parking garage had flooded with about two feet of water.

When the movie ended and the couple stepped outside to find cars submerged in the flash flood, Ruzzano realized people needed help right away. He told reporters that cars were backed up all over the place. “The whole roundabout, the whole entire garage, everything, even the bathrooms in the movie theaters flooded,” he said. He could have just tried to get himself and his girlfriend out of there, but he chose to help strangers instead.

This teen didn’t think twice about jumping in to help

Ruzzano started walking through the water and checking on people in their cars. “I went from car to car,” he explained. He thinks he helped about six or seven people get out safely. He said he was “making sure everyone was okay.”

The scariest part happened when he and some other people found an older man trapped inside his car. The man was stuck in his seatbelt and the water had already come up past his shoulders.

“He was actually stuck in the car, and we had to help him out. I think he was a little lost of the whole situation, so we helped him,” Ruzzano revealed. This flooding incident comes as Florida has seen other severe weather-related flooding in recent times.

After they got the elderly man out of his car, he tried to push the vehicle through the water. The rescuers had to tell him to stop. “We were like ‘No sir. We just have to get you to safety, make sure you’re okay,'” Ruzzano said. They walked him to a restaurant close by so he could dry off and recover.

Ruzzano says his dad taught him to follow his gut when things go wrong. “He always taught me and raised me right,” he said. He was just happy that “everyone’s okay” and said that “It’s very fortunate how things played out.” While Ruzzano acted quickly to help others, not everyone responds the same way during natural disasters.

All the people Ruzzano helped that night were really thankful. “They were just very thankful, and they kept telling me how lucky they were to have me there,” Ruzzano said. His dad posted a video of his son talking to reporters on Facebook and wrote, “Another interview with my heroic son, Mom and Dad are so proud of you.”