A group of good Samaritans came to the rescue when a car overturned on the Southern State Parkway, helping to free the adults and children who were trapped inside the vehicle.

Michael Gitto, of East Meadow, says he was driving home on the parkway Saturday afternoon when he saw a car had crashed on the side of the road. He said it had rolled off the highway and into the trees.

Gitto says he pulled over near Exit 29 in the Massapequa area, and that's when he saw there were four people inside of the crashed car. A man, woman and two children were inside.

Gitto says he was able to pry the passenger door open, lay down on top of the vehicle, and one-by-one, help extract the family.

Gitto, a former military member and a volunteer firefighter, luckily had a seat belt cutter with him.

"The seat belt was wrapped around her neck, so luckily I was able to use that tool to cut the seat belt and get her out of there," he says of one occupant.

Gitto says it wasn't long before more than a dozen people had pulled over on the side of the road to help the family trapped in the car.

"People like that are the reason why I'm proud to have served this country, be an American and be a Long Islander," he says.

State police tell News 12 that one person had a minor injury as a result of the crash.

Gitto says he never got their names, but he's happy he and the other good Samaritans were able to help the family.

State police say that no other cars were involved in the crash. There's no word on what caused it.