Two people were rescued near Winona Monday after their car plunged into the Mississippi River.

The accident happened about 9 a.m. on northbound Hwy. 61 south of Winona when Eric Gardner, 25, fell asleep and lost control of the car, the State Patrol said. His passenger, 40-year-old Angela Hunt of Winona, was knocked unconscious in the accident, which carried the vehicle into about 10 feet of water, authorities said.

Gardner was able to reach shore and flagged down two people driving by, and the three of them freed Hunt before the car disappeared under the water.

Two conservation workers who happened to be in the area then administered CPR and revived the unconscious Hunt.

Larry Webinger, 52, a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation worker, was on patrol nearby. With him was his son, Luke Webinger, 25, a conservation worker in Clinton, Iowa, who was home for Easter.

Larry Webinger said they saw rescuers bringing Hunt to shore. The father and son helped, then began CPR.

"She was unconscious," Larry Webinger said. "They weren't in the water very long, but it's ice-cold water." The conservation workers cleared her airway and got her breathing again. "She was coherent," he said. "She thanked us for saving her life."

Hunt and Gardner were taken by ambulance to Community Memorial Hospital in Winona, where they were treated for hypothermia. Gardner was released but Hunt remained in the hospital Monday night. She declined to talk with a reporter.

Larry Webinger said that stretch of the river normally is shallow, but that the floodwaters have doubled or tripled the depth.

"The real heroes were the two passersby," Larry Webinger said. "We were just doing our job."