(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A Portage, Indiana man drowned over the weekend after saving his girlfriend when she struggled in Lake Michigan.
It happened around 4:30 p.m. Sunday at a Michigan City beach with no lifeguards.
Donald Turner, 28, and his girlfriend were standing on a sand bar off Washington Park Beach when the woman slipped into the water, Indiana Conservation Officer Nicole Boumann said.
The woman couldn't swim and the water was deep, so Turner jumped into help. But after getting her back on the sand bar, he began to struggle, Boumann said.
The woman reportedly began yelling for help on the busy beach, but it was at least 20 minutes before another swimmer found Turner. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project previously said there have been at least 18 drownings in Lake Michigan, and last year was the deadliest year on record for the lake.
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