CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A man died Friday after jumping into the North Branch of the Chicago River while trying to put a fishing boat into the water near Goose Island.
Chicago police and fire crews responded to a water distress call at 8:59 a.m. in the 1500 block of North Kingsbury Street, according to police.
Two men were trying to put a boat into the water to go fishing when the boat started to drift away from them, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Merritt.
Dylan Wallace, 22, jumped into the river after the boat and did not resurface, police said. The friend jumped in to save him but was unable to find him.
Rescue divers removed both men, authorities said. One refused medical treatment while Wallace was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition.
He was pronounced dead at the hospital at 10:01 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
An autopsy conducted Sunday found that Wallace of Montclare on the North Side, died from drowning, according to the medical examiner's office. His death has been ruled an accident.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire & Chicago Sun-Times 2019. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
