KENNER — Travis Cook didn’t think twice about diving in the water when he saw a car accelerate into Lake Pontchartrain at the Kenner Boat Launch Sunday afternoon.

Cook, 38, of Reserve, said he was one of three people that jumped into the lake to try to rescue a woman who was trying to commit suicide.

Cook was out boating with family members when the commotion began.

“The car accelerated so quickly into the water that it caught everybody’s attention,” Cook said. “I was in the boat as we were docking in. I just took off my stuff, gave my phone to my daughter and went in. I didn’t hesitate.”

Cook, who works in maintenance for the St. John the Baptist Parish Public Schools, said from the dock to the car, he estimates he swam 15 yards to help the woman.

“I was a life guard in ’96,” Cook said. “That’s the only training I had. I was going against the wind, which made me kind of tired at the end, but I wasn’t injured.”

Cook said the woman in the car resisted help from her rescuers.

“As we got closer, she said ‘Let me go, I want to die,’” Cook said. “One guy said she wasn’t going to die on his watch. We tried to pull her out of the car but she locked the door on us, but the front window was down. We were able to pull her out. As we did, for some reason, her window went up by itself.”

Cook and the other rescuers were able to get the woman to the dry land.

At first Cook said he was in shock and wondered why someone would drive a car into a lake. While assisting the woman he noticed a hospital band on her wrist.

Later on he found out the woman had a history of mental illness.

Kenner Police Lt. Brian McGregor said authorities received an emergency call at approximately 4:50 p.m. Sunday.

Authorities are not releasing the name of the driver; however, McGregor said she was a 57-year-old woman from Kenner with a history of mental health issues.

Authorities believe driving her car into the lake was a suicide attempt.

“She was voluntarily committed earlier in the day to a hospital for a mental health evaluation,” McGregor said. “The victim walked out of the hospital against medical advice. History also shows that she jumped into a canal in 2013.”

After the incident McGregor said the woman was taken to the hospital and committed for an evaluation.

“We appreciate the help and citizen involvement,” McGregor said. “We were notified of this incident immediately and citizens helped rescue the victim.”