MOYOCK (AP) — Authorities in North Carolina say an off-duty Coast Guard officer saved a woman after her car veered into a chilly canal.

The Virginian-Pilot reported Thursday that the 29-year-old woman lost control of her car and drove into a 5-foot-deep canal near the town of Moyock.

Currituck County Fire and Emergency Medical Services said in a statement that the car began to sink. The woman climbed through the sun roof. But she couldn’t swim and began to panic.

Chief Warrant Officer Jeff Brundage of the Coast Guard was driving by at the same time. He dove into the 50-degree water to save the woman.

Tim Riley, deputy chief of the Currituck Fire and Emergency Medical Services, said in a statement that the community was lucky to have Brundage as a resident.