TAMPA, Fla. — Three days after Hillsborough County deputies and dive team members saved Amanda Antonio from a watery grave, the young woman showed up with her parents to thank them in person. 

"Like I told the dispatch lady, she was the first angel that I met that night," said Antonio, 20, at a press briefing Thursday morning. "And she brought everyone else to me. I don't think I would have been able to make it without them."

Antonio's father, Julio Perez, agreed.

"This whole couple, last three days has just been amazing," he said. "These guys are truly angels."

Antonio was driving home early New Year's Day after leaving a party. A driver cut her off near the 301 exit on Interstate 4.  After swerving to avoid an accident, her car rolled over, trapping her inside. 

Trapped in the car which was now upside down, the vehicle quickly began taking on water. Antonio was unable to get to her phone, but relied on technology to help her find it. 

"I looked at my watch and I pinged it and hear it ringing under water and I grabbed it," she said. 

Deputies involved in the rescue said that quick thinking likely saved Antonio's life. 

This was the scene early Monday as deputies helped Amanda Antonio from her car.

"Who has enough sense when they're upside down with water rising to ping your phone with your apple watch to locate your phone to call 911?" asked Dep. Chris Sullivan, also a member of the HBSO Dive Team.

"I guarantee a lot of people aren't going to do that."

Antonio remained on the phone with a dispatcher for 20 minutes who successfully guided deputies to the scene. 

Deputies say accidents like this usually end up becoming fatalities. 

Photos of the accident released by HSCO showed the first responders covered with mud after rescuing Antonio from the car. 

"We're smiling (in the pictures) knowing it worked out," said Dep. Jeremy Pollack, a dive team member "She's out (of the vehicle), she's transferred to EMS, she's going the hospital. Everything is OK."