American River near Discovery Park in Sacramento , California . Greene told CNN affiliate KCRA that he heard some yelling and then a splash . A woman had been pulling a ladder onto her boat , and she was thrown into the water when the driver pulled away . Greene saw the woman flailing in the water and dived in . `` I honestly do n't even think I was thinking -- I was just reacting , '' he told KCRA . `` I was pretty confident in my swimming abilities . '' Read the story at the KCRA web site Off-duty EMT makes icy pond rescue Tony Gerdom , an emergency medical worker from Iowa , was driving off-duty on December 7 when the van in front of him suddenly swerved off the icy road and fell into a pond . The cold weather had frozen the locks and windows on the van , trapping driver Kathy Van Steenvik . Gerdom took a tire iron and smashed the van 's passenger side window to free the driver . A second man , Brian Ford , held onto him with a rope while Gerdom descended into the pond . Each
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A man sees a 75-year-old man stuck on railroad tracks and pulls him to safety . An off-duty emergency worker pulls a woman from a van after it crashes into an icy pond . An NBA star saves a woman from drowning . A postal worker helps a mother whose baby is unconscious . A father goes into a house engulfed in flames to save two of his children , then returns to save the family 's pet . These are examples of everyday people who , when confronted with a life-or-death situation , jumped in to do what they could -- and became rescuers and heroes . CNN.com takes a look at some of the stories of heroic acts that happened throughout the country in the past 12 months . Do you know someone who 's an everyday hero ? Tell us about them on CNN iReport NBA player saves woman from drowning Donté Greene is used to being looked up to . He is a 6-foot-11 player for the Sacramento Kings of the NBA . But on Memorial Day he became a lifesaver . Greene and some friends were on a boat in the