Tony Hager at the 2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)Tony Hager, former Simpson College wrestler who has made a name for himself with his involvement in Takedown Wrestling and TheOpenMat.com, came to the rescue of a man and his dog trapped in rising floodwaters late last week.
Hager was sitting in his garage, watching the downpour in his neighborhood in Johnston, Iowa just outside Des Moines.
As the water was rapidly rising on his street, he noticed a car with a man and his dog trying to make its way through the floodwaters.
"You could see him coming down, I'm thinking, dude, don't drive down here, and he just strolls through like it's a Sunday drive," Hager told WeAreIowa.com, the website for the ABC TV affiliate in central Iowa.
"He had no idea where the road was at this point."
The car stalled in the rapidly rising water, trapping the occupants.
"Lightning was coming in and immediately my other neighbor was like, 'we have to help this guy.' And the water from here was literally over my waist," said Hager.
At first Hager and his neighbor struggled to free the driver, who was initially tangled in the steering wheel… but each rescuer took an arm of the trapped man and were able to pull him – and his dog – out of the flooded car, and to the safety of Hager's dry garage.
"When you're in the moment, your adrenaline's rolling and it just kind of fell in place, I guess," Hager said.
Hager said he'd do it again.
"When you have the opportunity to help someone, just do it, don't think about the consequences."
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