As summer weekends dwindle, it has not been the best of times on area waterways this season. Nor has it been the worst of times.
Drowning deaths and boating mishaps have kept emergency responders on the water. Let’s hope the upcoming Labor Day weekend is free from water rescues or recoveries.
Many of us fail to seriously consider the dangers of jumping in a lake, especially considering there have been several drownings this season in Lake County. Water safety should not be ignored by those seeking cool respite from hot weather or city living.
Officials annually emphasize boating safety, wearing life jackets and being aware of conditions, especially rip currents, and avoiding drinking alcoholic beverages when venturing out on the water. Failing to heed that advice could result in tragedy.
So far, the drowning trend is the same as in recent years: four in 2024, according to the Lake County Coroner’s Office, and four last year. Two of the drownings have occurred in Lake Michigan; one in the Chain O’Lakes; one in the Des Plaines River.
The Chain O’Lakes is the busiest inland recreational waterway per acre in the U.S., according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. I know folks who don’t launch their boats on the Chain during weekends because of vessels crowding the waterway.
The Sheriff’s Office patrols the Chain, with 6,000 acres and 15 lakes that are interconnected navigable waterways, along with the county portion of the Fox River and 26 miles of the Lake Michigan shoreline. It’s a vast area to monitor.
To aid marine deputies, the unit has been using Sea-Doos on the Chain provided by Nielsen Enterprises of Lake Villa, through a public safety loan program offered by Canadian-based Bombardier, parent of the personal watercraft maker. Deputies riding Sea-Doos on July 18 rescued three swimmers not wearing life jackets who were close to drowning on Petite Lake in unincorporated Lake Villa.
On the Chain, a teen’s life was cut short on July 14 when he drowned in Myers Bay in Pistakee Lake. Brayan Monzanga, 15, of Round Lake, a sophomore and three-sport athlete at Grayslake Central High School, either jumped off a boat or fell into the water and never resurfaced, authorities said at the time.
His friends jumped in and tried to find him, but were unable to rescue him. He was not wearing a life jacket, authorities noted, when responders from the Fox Lake Fire Department recovered his body.
Another teen drowned early in the season, on May 18, in Lake Michigan waters. Gabriel Ramirez, 17, a Waukegan High School junior, was swimming with friends when he went under. He was pulled from the lake’s cold water near the Government Pier breakwater in the main channel of Waukegan Harbor by rescue divers.
Despite continued warnings by Waukegan fire officials that dangerous currents exist around the harbor’s piers, breakwaters and rip-rap, teen daredevils still swim in the deep-water channel. It is a pastime fraught with peril.
A rare drowning in the Des Plaines River happened when Angelina Khalimendik, 31, of Hinsdale, jumped into the Des Plaines River at Independence Grove east of Libertyville on Aug. 16. She went to help her 6-year-old son who was floundering in the water. After helping the boy reach another family member, the woman went under.
Then there is the horrific crash on the McHenry County side of the Fox River, where on July 25 Alan Telmini and Magdalena Jablonska, both from Des Plaines, were cruising the river south of the McHenry Dam. Their boat was struck from behind by one helmed by Richard Stevenson, 45, of Lisle.
Authorities said Stevenson’s 31-foot tritoon, a vessel with three flotation tubes and equipped with three 500-horsepower engines, was moving at 80 mph when it plowed over the couple’s boat. The impact killed Jablonska, 48, and nearly cut the smaller craft in half.
Stevenson is facing charges of aggravated driving under the influence and reckless homicide. Prosecutors allege his blood-alcohol level was more than twice the state legal limit of .08 when he was tested after the crash.
For some Lake County boaters, the death of Jablonska, a former Marine, reminded them of the July 2012 death of 10-year-old Tony Borcia of Libertyville, who was killed while tubing on Petite Lake when struck by a speedboat piloted by David Hatyina, 51, of Bartlett.
Hatyina received a 10-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in 2013 to operating a boat while under the influence of cocaine and alcohol. His blood-alcohol content at the time of the collision was estimated to be between .09 and .128.
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It’s not only on highways where speed kills. Officials might consider reducing boat engine sizes on the Chain and the Fox River to limit running the lakes in high gear.
I have a feeling that will never happen. Until then, make sure to be safe while on the water through the end of boating season. Tragedy could be a wave away.
Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor, and editor. [email protected]. X @sellenews