Chicago Man Drowns At Clark Street Beach In Evanston

EVANSTON, IL — A Chicago man died Monday after he was pulled from Lake Michigan at Clark Street Beach in Evanston, authorities said. Police and fire department personnel were called to the beach shortly before 8:30 p.m. for a report that someone was drowning, according to police.

Officers arrived to find a man in the lake trying to get another man out of the water. Paramedics and police pulled the drowning man to dry land and immediately began attempting CPR and life-saving measures.

Marco Quito, 31, of the North Austin neighborhood in Chicago, was pronounced dead around 9:15 pm. at Evanston Hospital, according to Evanston police and the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

Detectives have opened a death investigation, but there are currently no signs of foul play, according to police.

Police said the witness who intervened in an effort to save Quito did not appear to have ever met the victim before.

Quito's death comes a day after the death of another swimmer at a north suburban beach, the first of the year in Illinois outside of Chicago.

A 27-year-old Waukegan man died at Vista Medical Center East after he was pulled from the lake at Illinois Beach State Park. The Lake County Coroner's Office has scheduled an autopsy for Tuesday.

So far in 2020, three men have drowned in Chicago beaches and a total of 10 people have died across Lake Michigan, according to Great Lake Surf Rescue Project. That marks a decline since last year, when the nonprofit reported 48 deaths in the lake.