Water Rescue On Kankakee River In Wilmington: Person On Paddleboard Struck Rock, Needed Help

WILMINGTON, IL — Wilmington deputy fire chief Todd Friddle has issued a press release explaining the events surrounding Tuesday's early evening water rescue at the Kankakee River.

According to his press release, at 5:16 p.m., Wilmington Fire District along with Wilmington's Emergency Services and Disaster agency responded for an injured person in the Kankakee River near Vista Drive.

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He said that attempts were made to find the person with two people on paddleboards at the river's edge behind an address on Vista Drive. The victim was ultimately located in the middle of the river behind the address of 1860 Vista Drive.

A Wilmington Fire District water rescue member entered the river and after traveling several hundred feet made initial contact with the victim while ESDA personnel boarded a small inflatable rescue boat, the fire department noted.

Although known overall as a shallow area of the river, the initial rescue swimmer reported varying degrees of depth up to chest high water, Friddle pointed out.

Part of the victim's paddleboard had struck a rock in the shallow area rendering the device unusable. Due to the terrain and age of the victim, they were unable to self-rescue from their location. The victim was taken from the river to an address on Vista Drive where Fire District EMS provided further assessment. The victim declined transport to the hospital by ambulance and no rescue personnel were injured during the operation, the deputy fire chief indicated.