A 31-year-old woman drowned after rushing in and saving her 7-year-old son from the Des Plaines River in a forest preserve near Chicago.
Angelina Khalimendik was at the Independence Grove Forest Preserve, about 37 miles northwest of Chicago, Sunday evening with her 11-year-old daughter and two sons ages 9 and 7 for a fishing trip while her husband was out of town, according to WBBM-TV. Other family members were also present.
After noticing her youngest son struggling, Ms. Khalimendik went into the river to help him. However, after getting her son to within the reach of a family member, Ms. Khalimendik went under herself, according to WLS-TV.
Bystanders including a family member eventually got Ms. Khalimendik out of the water.
First responders went to the scene and performed CPR, but she remained unresponsive. She was ultimately pronounced dead at the hospital, and the Lake County Coroner’s Office said Monday that preliminary results indicated she drowned, according to local news site Lake and McHenry County Scanner.
“We’ve had some very torrential rains the past week, week-and-a-half, so these bodies of water are flooded with not only extra water, but debris, fallen trees, branches, rocks, other things that are under the surface,” Lake County Forest Preserves Police Chief Ron Davis said, according to WBBM-TV, adding that nothing indicated the incident was anything but a tragic accident.
Ms. Khalimendik’s husband, who declined to be interviewed and did not provide his name, said that she was a devoted mother and that he wants her to be remembered for her dedication to her children, according to WLS-TV.
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