A 10-year-old boy died after a boat struck him in Lake Petite near north suburban Lake Villa Saturday afternoon, authorities said.
The boy was hit by a boat about 4:40 p.m. after he fell off of a floatation tube being pulled by another boat, said Illinois Conservation Police Sgt. Brett Scroggins.
“It was pretty traumatic,” Scroggins said.
Witnesses on the scene did not see the accident happen, but many said they heard screams from the lake.
"It just gets really congested here and it's important to really be safe," said Diane Schmidtke who heard the screams and came out to see the emergency crews conducting a rescue.
Paramedics took the boy to Condell Health Network in Libertyville, Scroggins said, adding that he did not know if the boy was pronounced dead at the hospital or at the scene.
No one else was injured in the accident, Scroggins said.
Scroggins said investigators continued to talk to witnesses and hope to conclude their work by the end of next week. He said no charges have been filed in the accident as of Saturday night.
Messages left with the Lake County Coroner’s office were not immediately returned late Saturday.
