A quick-thinking beachgoer is being praised for his bravery after rescuing a young woman caught in a dangerous rip current off the Jersey Shore.

Frank LaFerrara, a longtime Ocean City, New Jersey, resident, was enjoying a quiet Sunday afternoon at 9th Street Beach when he said he noticed someone struggling in the surf.

"A gentleman down by the water line here, he starts screaming for help and I said OK, gotta go," LaFerrara said.

Without hesitation, LaFerrara said, he dove into the water and swam hundreds of feet into the ocean to reach the woman. He estimates she was in her late teens or early 20s.

"She got over to me and she jumped on my shoulders with her arms and started pushing me under," LaFerrar said. "So I had to push her back and say, 'Calm down, relax. I'm here to help.'"

As LaFerrara began to bring her back toward shore, another beachgoer, Johnny Cerda of Ventnor, swam out with a flotation device to assist.

"If I can help people, I'm not going to think about it," Cerda said. "I'm going to do it."

By the time police and firefighters arrived on the scene, the woman was already safe on land.

"What they did was truly selfless," witness Dominick Dougherty said. "They put themselves in danger to save that little girl."

Earlier that same afternoon, police and firefighters had rescued four other swimmers caught in a rip current near the same jetty. The beach was unguarded at the time, highlighting the risks of swimming without lifeguards present.

"This is not a bad mark against Ocean City, New Jersey," LaFerrara said. "I want to say that. They have plenty of lifeguards and they care very much about people, but this is October, OK? And most seashore towns by now just don't have the staffing to do it."

LaFerrara credited a lifesaving class he took decades ago at Rider University for helping him stay calm and make the right decisions in the water.

After the rescue, the young woman thanked him and gave him a hug.

"That was my reward right there," LaFerrara said.