Woman helped rescue two men after boat explosion on Lake Michigan. "We did our deed for the day"
SUGAR GROVE, Ill. (CBS) -- A woman and her friends are being hailed as a hero for springing into action to save two men after a boat explosion Tuesday afternoon on Lake Michigan near Waukegan Harbor.
Tonia Logan took seven 13-year-old kids out for a day on her pontoon boat on Tuesday, but in her decades of boating, it was a first when she spotted a fire in the middle of Lake Michigan, and two men stranded in the water.
A 25-foot fiberglass hull powerboat had exploded on Lake Michigan, about two miles northeast of Waukegan Harbor. The boat was on fire, and smoke filled the sky near the power plant at the end of Greenwood Avenue.
On board were two boaters, a 46-year-old man from Washington state and a 55-year-old man from suburban Franklin Park. They both suffered burn injuries.
Tonia saw the explosion happen and captured the fire on cell phone video. She called 911 and told the teens on her boat to put on their life jackets as she drove over to help.
"As we're driving towards them, Ella actually says, 'There's two bodies, two men in the water,' and so we did everything we could to get to them as quickly as we could, and safely," she said.
Also on Logan's boat were Cindy Owen, her daughter Ella, and seven other kids. Everyone jumped in to help.
"We didn't hesitate. Tonia didn't hesitate to start throwing things in the boat so we could start driving," Cindy said.
Ella said it felt surreal.
"I knew I had to do something, I knew we had to help, but I didn't know what we could have done," she said.
Tonia said she didn't know how many people were going to be on the burning boat.
"We see them in the water, and we can see they are severely injured – definite burns – but we did not know anything else. They were floating on a piece of board, and we didn't know how else their injuries, or the extent of their injuries," Tonia said. "They were in shock, and in a lot of pain, a ton of pain."
Tonia said the two men needed help, and she knew she had to answer that call.
The two men were able to climb onto the pontoon. Tonia, Cindy, and the kids helped tend to their injuries as best they could while they rushed them back to shore to a waiting ambulance.
"I just kept asking them if they wanted water or anything, and one man was more injured in the other. I was concerned about his well-being. He seemed winded," Cindy said.
Another boater captured the moments the fire slowly went out. What was left of the boat quickly sank into the lake.
This crew is now being called heroes for rushing to help, but they said they were in the right place, and this was just the right thing to do.
"I'm so impressed with these kids, and how well they handled themselves, and just impressed with the situation, and thankful to God that we were there and able to help," Tonia said. "We did our deed for the day, and teaching the kids that when you can help, you should."
The Lake County Sheriff's Office said both men suffered burns and smoke inhalation and were taken to Vista East Medical Center for treatment. They were listed in serious condition, but are expected to recover.
Illinois Conservation Police were investigating the cause of the explosion. Tonia said the two men told her they had just filled up the boat with 40 gallons of gas before the explosion happened.
