Man Pulled From DuPage River In Third Naperville Water Rescue In Two Days
CHICAGO (STMW) -- Emergency crews rescued a man from the rain-swollen DuPage River in Naperville Wednesday night, the third such incident in two days.
Someone called 9-1-1 at 7:48 p.m. to report a person clinging to a tree in the DuPage River in the 1200 block of South Washington Street, according to a statement from the Naperville Fire Department. Crews arrived at the scene five minutes later to find the 58-year-old man holding on to the tree and surrounded by fast-moving currents.
Fire department support personnel positioned a safety line downstream while Swift Water Rescue swimmers entered the water to reach the man, who appeared to be hypothermic, the fire department said. He was safely removed from the water about 8:17 p.m.
The man was evaluated by paramedics at the scene and released without injury, according to the fire department. A witness told authorities the man had entered the river in an inflatable canoe at Pioneer Park but failed to arrive at the designated landing area. He was not wearing a personal flotation device.
Earlier Wednesday, three teenagers were rescued after a motorist spotted them trapped on an island in the river near 95th Street and Eagle Brook Lane just after 1 p.m., fire officials said.
On Tuesday, three people were rescued from the river after their raft flipped over near downtown Naperville's Riverwalk, officials said previously. No one was injured in any of the water rescue incidents.
A flood warning is in effect for several rivers across the Chicago area, including the DuPage River, because of recent heavy rains, according to the National Weather Service.
Naperville officials are warning residents to stay out of any flooded waterways, which could be dangerously fast-moving and filled with debris.
"In a flooding situation such as this, going into the water can be a matter of life or death," Fire Chief Mark Puknaitis said. "We encourage all people to stay away from all bodies of water until they are back to normal."
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2015. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
