Man Dies In Apparent Drowning On Pistakee Lake
Updated 06/09/14 - 1:31 p.m.
JOHNSBURG, Ill. (CBS) -- High winds and choppy water proved deadly for a Stone Park man on Sunday.
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports William Trybula, 49, was pulled out of Pistakee Lake in McHenry County, after he was unable to make it back to his boat when he went for a swim with his friends.
Firefighters were called to the lake Sunday afternoon, for a report of people needing rescue in the water.
Rescuers said three men were boating on Pistakee Lake, in far north suburban Johnsburg, when they jumped in the choppy water to swim. Their unanchored boat began drifting away, and two of the men made it back to the boat, Trybula went missing in the water.
Fourteen-year-old Morgan Fassnacht tried to help save him.
"I went out to see if they needed any help, and they were like, 'Yeah, my buddy just drowned, and I'm calling 911. The cops are on the way,'" Fassnacht said.
Rescuers from 10 departments came to help search. Less than an hour later, they found Trybula floating on the surface.
"They grabbed his hand. He was bobbing, so they grabbed his hand, and lifted him on the back of the boat. It looked like they started performing CPR right away," witness Dominick Adduci said.
A fire boat flipped during the rescue attempt.
"They were recovering the victim. As they were lifting him onto the boat, the wind … a huge wave hit the boat, and it took on water, and it also capsized. There was no injuries from that, though," McHenry Township Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Mike Majercik said.
The chief said he wasn't sure if the victim was wearing a life jacket, but witnesses said neither he nor his two friends had one. It was unclear how long they had been boating when they ran into trouble, but Majercik said the conditions on the lake were precarious.
"It's extremely windy, and the waves are bigger than normal. Yeah, it's not normally this rough out here," he said.
An autopsy on Monday "revealed findings consistent with drowning," according to the McHenry County Coroner's office. Results of toxicology tests were not yet available.
