Swimmer, 25, hospitalized after being rescued in Lake Michigan's "Playpen"
CHICAGO (CBS) – A 25-year-old man was hospitalized in critical condition after a water rescue in the "playpen" on Lake Michigan over the weekend.
Northwestern Hospital did not reply to a request for information about the man's condition on Monday. CBS 2's Tara Molina had the story.
Video showed rescue crews jumping from a chopper to save the man who went under. Police said the 25-year-old went into the water and didn't come back up around 2:13 p.m. The marine unit pulled the man from the lake, got him to shore, and rushed him to Northwestern Hospital.
A witness who didn't want to be interviewed on camera but shared rescue videos with CBS 2, said they heard screaming and, minutes later, the lake was swarmed by police boats, fire boats, U.S. Coast Guard boats, and a helicopter. They said they saw emergency crews give the man CPR before he was rushed to the hospital.
"I have personally noticed more reports of rescues, then the question becomes, have we always had this number of rescues, and it just wasn't reported?" said Dave Benjamin, of the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, adding that many times, rescues are not communicated to authorities.
Benjamin added that anytime someone enters the water, they run the risk of serious injury or death.
"Over the Labor Day weekend, we had nine Great Lakes drownings," he said. "Six of those were in Lake Michigan, and then we've had a few more in Lake Michigan since then. Even though ... swim season is unofficially over with Labor Day, people continue to go in the water and may find themselves struggling in the water."
Benjamin shared data with CBS 2 show there have been 74 Great Lakes drownings so far in 2023, although that does not include the most recent rescue in the Playpen, and 38 of those have taken place in Lake Michigan.
Since 2010, more than 1,200 drownings have taken place in the Great Lakes. Here are the yearly totals:
- 74 drownings in 2010
- 88 in 2011
- 99 in 2012
- 67 in 2013
- 54 in 2014
- 55 in 2015
- 99 in 2016
- 88 in 2017
- 117 in 2018
- 97 in 2019
- 108 in 2020
- 101 in 2021
- 108 in 2022
- 74 to date in 2023
Total: 1,232 since 2010