Four North Carolina roommates narrowly escape car stuck in Hurricane Helene floodwaters

Harrowing footage shows the moment four college students narrowly escaped from a drowning car as Hurricane Helene continues to cause havoc in North Carolina. 

Avery Paner, a public health major at Appalachian State University and her three female roommates ended up trapped in her car along with her service dog, Finn on September 27. 

Cellphone video shows murky brown water quickly filling inside the vehicle while the foursome shout for help and try to find a window breaker. 

'My car is not going. We need to get out!,' Paner can be heard yelling in the video. 

'We move forward trying to go to the higher ground as much as possible and we are almost there, and it is in sight and my car starts sinking,' the 19-year-old recounted to CBS17. 

Things began to worsen after a gigantic tree fell down on top of their car - forcing them into a standstill and unable to open the windows due to the rising water level. 

'We were kind of trying to work fast and work safe, and we go down the main road that takes us to the top of the hill and a tree falls down right on top of my car. 

'We are all just trying to get out of this car as fast as possible because the water's rising to about the window now. It's about up to my hip level. 

'And we are trying to look for a window breaker, which I had in my glove compartment but nobody could see because the water is brown and murky and we're just getting deeper and deeper into this water. My car is filling up much quicker.' 

Paner later recounted experiencing a rip current that she said completely 'swept her from underneath her feet'. 

But right before the situation could worsen, the girls climbed into the front seat and began to push a door open. 

In a miraculous moment, a group of men saw them struggling to stay afloat and quickly rushed to push the car into a safer area. 

'So everyone climbs into the front seat and we all, all four girls, used all our girl power, and we pushed this door open. 

'And there's about six or seven guys across the street that come running over and to our rescue to try to push this car up through the mud to higher ground. 

'We all link arms, and right when we passed the rip current, I get swiped out from underneath and I am literally submerged in this water. 

'And I am almost a victim of the surge; I almost go off into the water, and I am very grateful that one person happened to snag me by my arm and keep me up in this water or else I'm very confident I would have drowned.

'I'm so grateful I've had these strangers that noticed us in need of help and able to come physically save us as well,' she gratefully said. 

While the foursome escaped with no injuries, Finn came into contact with contaminated water and has since been severely ill. 

According to a GoFundMe, the service dog, who helps prevent cardiac issues in his owner, is currently at the emergency vet in isolation and may be suffering from leptospirosis. 

As of now, the crowdfunding page has raised $5,198 out of its $20,000 goal.