This is the moment a passer-by rescued an Amazon lorry driver who was stuck inside his cabin which was filling with water on a flooded road after Hurricane Ida.

Vincent Peña, 38, was driving over the Major Deegan Expressway in New York, USA, when he noticed it had been flooded after heavy rainfall.

He saw a number of huge trucks stuck in deep water that came up past their headlights, and stopped to help.

The driver couldn't swim and was terrified - so Vincent paddled out to him and led him to safety through the water.

Vincent, from Riverdale in the Bronx, said: "My first thought was that I had to save him.

"Everybody was hesitant and I felt like nobody really wanted to do anything to help the man so I got in there myself through the side.

"I wouldn’t say I was scared but I was very cautious because of the light poles and live wires that were underwater."

On Wednesday night (01/09), Hurricane Ida dropped heavy rainfall on the Expressway, meaning that many drivers were stuck until the following morning.

The National Weather Service issued a Flash Flood Emergency for New York City for the first time in history, which is when the flood poses a severe threat to human life and property.

There was between six and ten inches of rainfall over a several hour period.

General Contractor Vincent was driving over the flooded road to pick up some workers on Thursday (02/09) when he noticed the scene and pulled over.

He said: "About thirteen trucks and ten cars were stuck in the flood.

"I got out and saw that a truck driver was left behind in his truck and was stuck.

"I saw he needed help so I quickly grabbed some spare pants that I had in my car and went down to the highway and swam to him.

"The highway was filled with water and glass from people breaking their windows to get out."

The fire department, FDNY, were present at the scene near Exit 10 on the i87, but Vincent said they had driven away to find a better way to reach the vehicles below.

This video was filmed on the 2nd September 2021.