HOOVER, Alabama - Hoover Mayor Gary Ivey and the Hoover City Council on Monday night honored two teenage boys who tried to save the life of a 68-year-old woman whose car plunged into Star Lake in May.

Tristan Jernigan, a 16-year-old boy from Fultondale, and Tyler Harris, a 17-year-old boy from Helena, were on their way to pick up friends in Hoover to go to the movies on May 17 when Jernigan saw what appeared to be lights from a car submerged in Star Lake.

Harris said he slammed on the brakes and put his vehicle in park, and the two boys jumped out and dove in the water.

"We couldn't see anything. We couldn't break the glass, so we had to come back up," Harris said.

The boys stayed there until police arrived and pointed out where the vehicle was. By that time, the lights on the car had gone off, Harris said.

"They would have never been able to tell where the car was if we hadn't been there," he said.

A dive team was on the way to the scene, but Hoover firefighters were able to attach a winch to the car and drag it out of the water. Police Chief Nick Derzis said firefighters then broke a car window and pulled a woman out.

Deanna Shumate, 68, of Conway, Ark., had been to an Ensley High School 50-year reunion at the Hoover Country Club in Hoover, Ala., when she apparently lost control of her car and went into Star Lake.

The woman was 68-year-old Deannna Shumate, a Conway, Ark., woman who had just attended a 50-year Ensley High School reunion at the Hoover Country Club. She apparently lost control of her vehicle and drove into the lake, Derzis said.

Shumate was unconscious when firefighters got her out of her vehicle and took her to UAB Hospital, Derzis said. She apparently had been underwater for a long time, he said.

Shumate did not survive, but two of her cousins came to the Hoover City Council meeting Monday night to show their appreciation to Jernigan and Harris for their heroic efforts.

"We're very indebted to these two young men," Nancy Ridley said.

The boys showed a lot of bravery, Donna Wills said. "They risked their own lives to try to help her. A lot of youth nowadays would have ignored it and walked on," Wills said. "They had some very good training from their parents to think of others."

Jernigan said he wishes he and Harris could have done something different and been able to break the glass on the car to get Shumate out, but they did all they could.

Donna Wills, left, and Nancy Ridley present thank-you notes to 17-year-old Tyler Harris of Helena, Ala., and 16-year-old Tristan Jernigan of Fultondale, Ala., for the boys' heroic efforts to try to save their cousin whose car had plunged into Star Lake in Hoover, Ala. The women gave hugs to the boys in the lobby of the Hoover Municipal Center, where city leaders honored the boys on Monday, Sept. 16, 2013. (Jon Anderson/janderson@al.com)

When asked what prompted them to take action, Harris said they didn't really think about it at the time. "You see a car in a lake. The instant reaction is, 'How can I help?" Harris said.

They don't really feel like they deserve any special praise, "but I'm happy that people know we tried to do a good thing and are proud of us for it," Harris said.

Hoover Mayor Gary Ivey presents plaques of appreciation to 17-year-old Tyler Harris of Helena, Ala., and 16-year-old Tristan Jernigan of Fultondale, Ala., on Monday, Sept. 16, 2013, for the boys' heroic efforts to try to save the life of a woman whose car had plunged into Star Lake in Hoover, Ala., on May 17, 2013. (Jon Anderson/janderson@al.com)

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