Man Alive After Being Pulled Out of Chicago River in Loop

Chicago police officers rescued a man from the Chicago River in the city's Loop early Tuesday.

Authorities said the incident took place at around 1 a.m. near the intersection of North Dearborn Street and West Wacker Drive.

A security guard discovered the man in the water and was able to throw in a flotation device until officers arrived, according to police.

Officers Andres Gomez and Alejandro Rociles were first on the scene - both with the Chicago Police Department for about two years but partners for a couple of months.

They said it was a scary call considering the frigid temperatures of the air and the water.

The officers pulled the man from the water, authorities said, and he was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in stable condition.

"His statements were that he had just gotten out of a concert, he basically drank a little too much and he was trying to cross from one side of the river to the other," Rociles said.

"In his mindset, he thought he was a good swimmer, so he jumped over the fence and as soon as he got in water he wasn't able to swim from one side of the river to the other," he continued.

"At that moment, with the frigid temperatures and the water being so cold, our first thought was hopefully he's okay. He was not conscious, he wasn't talking much so we were quite frightened," added Gomez.

The officers said the man only spoke Spanish and although he was alone at the time of the rescue, they were able to communicate with him because they are bilingual.

In total, about 10 officers from the 1st and 18th Districts were on the scene in the team effort to pull the man from the water, authorities said.

Copyright CHIST - SunTimes
Contact Us