He told Inside Edition: 'If the car had gotten any more water, it could have just floated off.'
The hero who led an incredible human-chain rescue in the face of devastating flooding in Maryland is breaking his silence about the tense moments in which he saved a woman's life.
Jason Barnes can be seen on the video nearly getting swept away at his first attempt to rescue the woman trapped in the raging floodwater in Ellicott City Saturday night.
Read: Woman Rescued From Maryland Flooding Thanks to Human Chain: 'I Thought She Was Gonna Die'
Barnes then linked arms with other heroic rescuers to get to the woman.
Their actions were caught on camera by Dave Dester. Dester and his wife, Sara Arditti, own an art gallery in the town and watched as the floods ran in front of their door.
Thanks to the human chain led by Barnes, the unidentified woman was able to get out of her car and to safe ground.
“I was just the last part of a very strong chain that pulled together to make sure everyone was going to walk away from this,” he told Inside Edition.
He added: “If the car had gotten any more water, it could have just floated off. About 50 feet or so is a river and it could have just taken her further downstream.”
The basement of Barnes’ local toy store, All Time Toys, flooded in the wake of Mother Nature's wrath. A family member is now raising money on a GoFundMe page to help Barnes following the storm.
Read: Body Cam Captures Cops Rescuing Suspected Armed Robbers From Burning Car After Chase
Triple A's Robert Sinclair gave Inside Edition lifesaving advice should you find yourself trapped in a flooding car.
First, if you see rising water, don't drive through it.
“It can take just one foot of flood water to move [your car] and carry it away,” Sinclair said.
If your car becomes submerged, open your windows so you can swim out to safety if the vehicle fills with water.
In raging water, swim feet first. Sinclair said: “You want to keep your feet in the direction you are going in. If you strike something, it is better to do it with your feet rather your upper body, torso or head.”
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