Construction workers stay humble after rescuing teen girl from Va. lake

MANASSAS, Va. - Whatever you do, don't call these construction workers heroes. They say they were just doing what anyone would do when they jumped into the murky waters at Lake Montclair's West Beach and pulled a 17-year-old girl to safety.

"Everybody went in under the water and then everybody tried to find the lady under the water, and these guys saw the hand, saw the foot and the other guy tried to find the dresses," said Dennis Cruz.

Cruz, 27, is one of six construction workers who helped rescue the teen Wednesday afternoon.

"The lady said, 'I need help' and everybody went inside the water for her," he said.

All of this went down despite a language barrier between the crew who spoke little English and the teenager's family and friends who couldn't swim.

Even so, it was far from your typical day on the job and something the group is still talking about a day later.

The men work at Manassas-based JC Roman Construction Company.

"They're more concerned how the girl is doing, how her family is doing," said Jarmale Armitage, a superintendent for the construction company. "And like Dennis said, a couple more minutes and she would have passed away, so that was their biggest concern."

Now, the Good Samaritans are trying to find the girl they pray they saved.

"Still everybody's biggest concern until we have a sense of control on how she's doing and how her family is doing," said Armitage.

The 17-year-old girl was taken to Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center in Woodbridge. She was breathing and regained a pulse. She was then airlifted to Inova Fairfax Hospital where she remained Wednesday night.

Due to privacy laws, her condition is confidential.