Larry Cummins couldn't hold his breath much longer, but he refused to release the clump of hair from a body he was trying to pull out of a car submerged in 8 to 10 feet of water off Waikiki Yacht Club's pier.

"I wasn't about to let her go," Cummins said yesterday of his rescue of a 15-year-old girl who was in a 1993 Cadillac that went off the pier on Saturday.

The girl was released from the hospital earlier this week and is recuperating at home. The girl's 66-year-old stepgrandfather, Michael McCarthy, had been driving the car.

McCarthy, an attorney, died at Straub Hospital & Clinic on Saturday at 6:30 p.m., 50 minutes after police were notified of the incident. The medical examiner's office said yesterday that McCarthy had drowned.

"Our family would like to express its gratitude to Larry Cummins for being in the right place at the right time and performing an incredibly unselfish act," said Gwen Daley, McCarthy's stepdaughter. She was speaking on behalf of the girl's parents, who asked not to be identified at this time. "Despite our tragic loss, we are extremely grateful for Larry bringing (her) back to us."

The 37-year-old Cummins, a Navy petty officer first class, has a boat at the yacht harbor.

He was headed to the parking lot when someone told him a white Cadillac had hit his 2001 Silverado pickup truck and another car. The witness had the car's license number and although the damage to Cummins' truck was minor, they decided to report the incident to yacht club management.

As they approached the club entrance, Cummins noticed something peculiar.

"It looked like someone had dumped trash in the water," said Cummins, a Utah native who has been in the Navy 19 years and in Hawai'i since September 2001. He is assigned to Marine Corps Base Hawai'i in Kane'ohe.

Cummins also noticed bubbles rising to the surface but could not see exactly where they were coming from.

When he saw a small nylon cooler floating, "we put two and two together and bet that the car went into the pond," Cummins said.

He took off his shirt and jumped in feet first to investigate.

Cummins made about four dives, only able to feel his way in darkness underwater, hoping to find the car. When he located it, Cummins tried to open the passenger-side and rear passenger-side doors but both were locked. While surfacing for air, he yelled for someone to give him something to break the window.

He dived back down empty-handed and tried the driver's-side door, which he was able to open enough to feel around inside the car. He determined no one was in the front seat.

"I started to sweep the back seat and felt her hair," Cummins said, noting the girl was floating in the car. "I was pulling her by the hair but had a hard time getting her over the seat and out the door.

"I wasn't going to be able to hold my breath much longer but I wasn't going to let her go," he added.

Cummins got the girl out and when they surfaced, he noted, "she wasn't breathing."

At first, he tried to get the girl onto a nearby catamaran but decided to swim her to the pier. People helped her out of the water and Cummins says someone may have performed CPR.

He dove back to the car but couldn't find anyone else. By then, the Fire Department arrived and sent in divers, who brought McCarthy up.

"I'd like to think anyone else would have done the same," Cummins said. "I feel good she made it, and I'm just happy something good came out of it."

Fire Department spokesman Capt. Kenison Tejada praised Cummins' action.

"Him being there made a critical difference," Tejada said. "He probably saved her life."

The girl plans to personally thank Cummins for saving her life when she's able to, Daley said.

McCarthy's death brought a sad ending to what his family was hoping would be a fairytale come true.

On Dec. 3, he remarried his former wife Audrey, whom he had divorced about 20 years ago, Daley said. The couple planned to send out invitations this week to a Feb. 18 reception celebrating their marriage.

"My mom was the happiest I've ever known her to be the last few months," Daley said.

Rites for McCarthy will be held Sunday at Borthwick Mortuary. Visitation is at 11 a.m. with the service at 12:30 p.m.

Reach Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.