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When Manship leapt from a chair in his great room and dashed to his patio, he saw two women in the car, one of whom was yelling for help from an open window of the sinking vehicle.
Manship, a 66-year-old former Marine who was a lifeguard in high school, sprang into action.
Relying on his experience and ignoring the hazard of diving into a known alligator habitat, he began a daring rescue that authorities later said might have saved the women's lives.
"The main thought was just to prepare ahead of time to make sure I didn't get out there and lose one of them," the retired telephone technician and engineer said while recounting the incident at his home Tuesday.
After directing a neighbor to call 911, Manship grabbed three foam noodle swim devices, which he knew he would need to keep the woman afloat, and took off for the end of the lagoon closest to the car.
He took off his shoes and shirt but left his socks on to protect his feet from debris on the lagoon's soggy bottom.
Jumping into the dark, shoulder-deep water, he reached the driver's side first.
By the time he had fished the driver from the vehicle and provided her with a noodle, the water had reached the windshield.
He turned his attention to the passenger. Her foot was stuck.
"I kept tugging," Manship said. "It was getting critical."
Just when Manship was considering returning to the other side of the vehicle to try a different approach, her foot came free, and Manship hoisted her from the car.
The water had reached the top of the car's windows.
Having extracted both women, he planted his feet in the muck and set off toward a group of people on bank, only to discover the water was soon over his head, forcing him to turn back.
By the time a fire engine and ambulance arrived, the trio had reached the edge of the lagoon, said Todd Harvey, a battalion chief with the Bluffton Township Fire District.
Bystanders helped usher the women over a row of reeds and safely onto the sloped banks, Manship said.
Manship later learned the women, both fellow residents of the retirement community, were on their way to a card game when the driver accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake while approaching a stop sign, he said.
Authorities did not release the identities of the women, who could not be reached for comment.
Harvey said authorities are thankful to Manship.
"It made a difference," Harvey said. "It could have been a life-or-death situation."
Because the car was nearly submerged and had drifted far into the lagoon before first responders arrived, it could've been difficult for them to extract the women in time, Harvey said.
Mary Burns, who lives on the corner of Manship's street, was similarly impressed with her neighbor's effort.
She and her family prayed to keep the lagoon's resident gator away from the scene, she said, while her niece snapped a photo on a cell phone.
Burns called Manship a "hero" and "man of the year."
"He dove in with no mind for his own safety," Burns said. "He knew exactly what to do."
Manship credited training he received during two summers as a lifeguard as a high-schooler in Darlington County and four years as a Marine.
"I'm just glad I had the background," Manship said. "I didn't have any doubt I could handle the situation."
Manship didn't think about the gator until he got the women out of the vehicle, he said. The alligator, which was seen near the accident site the day before and that morning, returned that afternoon, Manship said.
The women, who escaped without serious injury, have both spoken with Manship and signed a card to express their appreciation.
The driver teared up as she delivered it Monday afternoon, Manship said.
It took several days for the mental stress of the incident to wear off, but Manship said he remains grateful things worked out as well as they did.
"It could've been bad," he said. "But it turned out good."
