Jorge Brooks is a hero. He’s also a disabled military veteran, who by his own admission is no star swimmer.

Funny how details like this latter one, about treading water — one of the many that deter less extraordinary people from taking action — they don’t deter heroes. Because with Jorge Brooks, and others of his brave ilk, weaknesses become strengths when it matters most. And nary a thing stands in the way of preserving human life.

So when he was en route to class one morning earlier this month near his home in South Carolina, and saw a Toyota sedan with a young woman at the wheel go “flying across the road” and land in a watery canal, he didn’t freeze or continue on his way. He stepped up.

“I had to drive up and turn back around to get back to the car. When I got back, the mother was yelling ‘Help! Help! Please help me!'”

The mom was 27-year-old Carolyn Sort, who happened to be driving her two children, ages of 9 and 10.

“Before I went in to help, I called 911. Some others came on the scene, too. They were also calling for help,” he told the Times and Democrat.

Brooks remembers the children crying before he got into the water.

“I was steadily sinking, but I just did what I had to do.”

Shortly after, another motorist assisted Brooks in the rescue effort. Thanks to their courageous decision, the mother and her kids left the scene with only minor injuries.

“I can’t believe I was involved in something like this. I feel like a nervous wreck.”

Brooks served in the United States Army. A married father of three, he’s currently studying at a technical college with a focus in child development.