A woman is dead after she crashed her car into Lake Michigan near Randolph Street early this morning.
The vehicle was upside-down under about 20 feet of water when emergency crews arrived, Fire Department Cmdr. Ron Dorneker said.
Two water rescue divers pulled the woman out, Fire Media Affairs Chief Kevin MacGregor said. Paramedics treated her on the scene for cardiac arrest and were able to find a pulse. She was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Dorneker said Fire Department marine rescue crews are located near the accident scene, and were able to respond very quickly despite the cold.
"It's cold out here, and there was a silk bottom. Conditions were difficult to work with," Dorneker said.
The victim was identified as Amber Battle, 26, with a last known address in the 7200 block of S. South Shore Drive, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.
The crash happened at a turn-around on the east end of Randolph Street, just north of the Columbia Yacht Club's boat. It appears the car failed to negotiate the turn, crashed through a pylon and a bike rack, spun down the embankment and into the water. There was no evidence the car tried to stop.
A severely damaged Oldsmobile Cutlass was later pulled from the water, its front end and roof smashed in.
