Possibly Drunk Man Saved After Jumping Into River: Naperville Police

NAPERVILLE, IL — Officers who responded to a report of a possibly intoxicated man wandering in traffic wound up rescuing him after he jumped into the fast-moving DuPage River Saturday afternoon, according to Naperville police. Officers were dispatched to the 800 block of South Washington Street at 3:08 p.m. after a resident called in the report of a potentially drunk person walking in traffic. Officers located the man on Edgewater Drive, but when he saw them, he ran towards the river and jumped in, police said.

"Due to recent rain, the river was high and the current was moving quickly," Cmdr. Tom Kammerer said in a press release. "Officers called for the subject to get out of the water (but) he continued to go deeper into the river eventually getting swept up in the current."

Kammerer said Officers Scott Donofrio and Don Porus immediately ran towards the water, assisted by a quick-thinking resident who saw the cops and offered them the use of his kayak. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Naperville — or your town.)

"Officer Donofrio quickly entered the river in the kayak and was able to catch up to the subject, who had now drifted south approaching the Gartner Avenue bridge," Kammerer said. Donofrio was able to grab the man and began pulling him towards shore, where Porus entered the water and helped Donofrio pull the man to safety, police said.

Once the man was on shore, Naperville Fire Department medics began rendering aid, and he was taken to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.

"Thanks to the quick actions of these two officers, and the awareness of a neighborhood resident, this

subject was rescued from the river, likely saving his life," Kammerer said.

Photo via the Naperville Police Department