Zac Clark, 16, was helping his mother do yard work one recent weekend when he heard a loud bang. He looked up to see that his neighbor, who had been working on his car, was being crushed.
"I turned around and saw him struggling," Clark told the Mansfield News Journal. "Instincts kicked in, and I just ran over there, and I just thought I had to get the car off him.
Zac's mother, Lora Clark, also rushed over to help the neighbor.
"The car was pressing on his head and crushing his ribs," she told CNN. "I said there's no way we can lift this car but I could see in Zac's face that he wasn't going to give up."
Zac Clark positioned himself at the front of the car, near the hood, and lifted it up. He managed to keep it lifted long enough for Lora Clark and the neighbor's wife to pull the neighbor out from under the car.
"He had a couple of cracked ribs and his face was messed up pretty bad, but the doctors told him if I wasn't there then he'd be dead," Zac Clark told WJW-TV. "I just thank God for putting me in the position and giving me the strength to do that."
The neighbor, a 39-year-old man who declined to be identified, is now recovering at home and is expected to be OK.
Zac Clark is a sophomore at Clear Fork High School in Bellville, where he plays football. His coach wrote a tribute to Zac on the team's Facebook page.
"We have a real life hero on our football team," he wrote. "Our left guard, Zach Clark, lifted a car that fell off the jack and on to his neighbor's chest yesterday. His neighbor survived the incident, and the doctor said that Zach saved his life. Great job springing into action Zach!"
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