BOCA RATON, Fla. — A Boca Raton teenager is being praised as a hero after rescuing an older man and several drivers trapped in floodwaters during last weekend’s heavy rain.

Thomas Ruzzano said he was leaving a movie theater Sunday night when he found the parking garage already filled with about two feet of water. Outside, streets across the city were flooded and cars were stranded.

“I got out of my car and saw all these people struggling,” Ruzzano said.

One of them, an older man, was stuck in his seatbelt as water rose above his shoulders. Ruzzano and others helped free him and pulled him to safety.

“We unbuckled him, got him out and made sure he was fine,” he said.

Ruzzano went on to help several more people escape their flooded cars.

When asked about being called a hero, he said, “It’s very fortunate how things played out. I’m just happy everyone’s okay.”

Heavy rain caused widespread flooding across Boca Raton, Pompano Beach and Deerfield Beach, with videos showing submerged cars, flooded hotels and residents forced from their homes.

Ruzzano said he simply did what anyone would do.

“It was the least I could do,” he said.

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