Massachusetts Man Risks Safety to Rescue Woman Trapped in Flooded Car in Video The mayor said the rescue "shows what it means to be a Good Samaritan!"

 -- A Massachusetts mayor is praising a "Good Samaritan" for risking his own safety to save a woman trapped in a car surrounded by water.

Video shows the rescuer -- a Department of Public Works employee in Everett, Massachusetts -- wading through the water and carrying the woman out of the flooded area.

Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria said in a Facebook post that the incident happened Tuesday.

The Everett Police Department said this area floods regularly, so Department of Public Works employees happened to be driving by to check the roadway.

DeMaria identified the rescuer as Department of Public Works employee Jason Papa and said he "risked his own safety to save a woman's life who was stuck in a car surrounded by several feet of water."

ABC affiliate WCVB reported that the water poured into the woman's car when she went to open the door.

Papa told WCVB the woman was "in distress ... I could see it in her face. She was scared."

"She hugged me, thanked me, shook my hand," Papa told WCVB, adding that the woman wasn't hurt.

DeMaria said the rescue "shows what it means to be a Good Samaritan!"

He added: "I commend the work and courage of Jason and thank him for his heroic actions!"