06-23-2010, 04:04 PM
Another death at the lake front. 
'They were almost there'
Man, 21, drowns in Waukegan Harbor channel
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/2421802,5_1_WA23_DROWN_S1-100623.article">http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/news ... 23.article</a><!-- m -->
June 23, 2010
By FRANK ABDERHOLDEN <!-- e --><a href="mailto:fabderholden@stmedianetwork.com">fabderholden@stmedianetwork.com</a><!-- e -->
A group of friends came down to the Waukegan lakefront late Tuesday afternoon, and three young men decided to swim the harbor channel.
One didn't make it.
Antoine Miller, 21, of Waukegan, was rushed to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan, where he was pronounced dead.
Miller decided to try to swim the width of the harbor channel -- approximately 40 to 50 yards -- which he had never done before, with his friends Jesus "Jesse" Figueroa, 20, and Alex Saenz, 18, both of whom swam the channel on other occasions.
"We were all sitting down," said Jessica Lopez, 17, of Waukegan, referring to the group of about 10 friends who came to the beach around 4 p.m. to hang out near the north concrete wall of the harbor channel near the municipal beach band shell.
"And they just jumped off," she said. "They swam across. They were almost there," she said.
"They were about five feet away," said Daisy Saenz, 15, of Waukegan. "He (Miller) jumped on Jesse's back, but he slipped off as he (Jesse) reached for the ladder."
"He just slid off his back," said Lopez. "We heard them scream when they lost him."
There was talk among Miller's friends that his muscles had cramped, and Daisy Saenz said that Miller had a bad back.
"It was a usual thing for them," Daisy Saenz said of Figueroa and Alex Saenz swimming the channel. "He (Miller) had never gone across."
Rescuers received a 9-1-1 call at 5:15 p.m.
There are some no-swimming signs in the area, but they are few and far between compared to the big "no-wake" signs painted on the walls.
"Maybe we need more no-swimming signs," said Waukegan Mayor Robert Sabonjian as he watched the divers' rescue effort.
At one point, Sabonjian tried to stop a boat from entering the harbor by waving his hands so it wouldn't enter the rescue zone.
"Boat traffic alone makes this a dangerous area," said the mayor.
When one of the two divers found Miller and pulled him up to the waiting boat, Fire Chief Dan Young said there was a possibility they could revive him because the water was cold and he'd been under water for about 50 minutes.
Miller recently quit his job at the local Wal-Mart, according to his friends. He has a child with a girlfriend, but they have not been together for awhile, his friend said.
'They were almost there'
Man, 21, drowns in Waukegan Harbor channel
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/2421802,5_1_WA23_DROWN_S1-100623.article">http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/news ... 23.article</a><!-- m -->
June 23, 2010
By FRANK ABDERHOLDEN <!-- e --><a href="mailto:fabderholden@stmedianetwork.com">fabderholden@stmedianetwork.com</a><!-- e -->
A group of friends came down to the Waukegan lakefront late Tuesday afternoon, and three young men decided to swim the harbor channel.
One didn't make it.
Antoine Miller, 21, of Waukegan, was rushed to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan, where he was pronounced dead.
Miller decided to try to swim the width of the harbor channel -- approximately 40 to 50 yards -- which he had never done before, with his friends Jesus "Jesse" Figueroa, 20, and Alex Saenz, 18, both of whom swam the channel on other occasions.
"We were all sitting down," said Jessica Lopez, 17, of Waukegan, referring to the group of about 10 friends who came to the beach around 4 p.m. to hang out near the north concrete wall of the harbor channel near the municipal beach band shell.
"And they just jumped off," she said. "They swam across. They were almost there," she said.
"They were about five feet away," said Daisy Saenz, 15, of Waukegan. "He (Miller) jumped on Jesse's back, but he slipped off as he (Jesse) reached for the ladder."
"He just slid off his back," said Lopez. "We heard them scream when they lost him."
There was talk among Miller's friends that his muscles had cramped, and Daisy Saenz said that Miller had a bad back.
"It was a usual thing for them," Daisy Saenz said of Figueroa and Alex Saenz swimming the channel. "He (Miller) had never gone across."
Rescuers received a 9-1-1 call at 5:15 p.m.
There are some no-swimming signs in the area, but they are few and far between compared to the big "no-wake" signs painted on the walls.
"Maybe we need more no-swimming signs," said Waukegan Mayor Robert Sabonjian as he watched the divers' rescue effort.
At one point, Sabonjian tried to stop a boat from entering the harbor by waving his hands so it wouldn't enter the rescue zone.
"Boat traffic alone makes this a dangerous area," said the mayor.
When one of the two divers found Miller and pulled him up to the waiting boat, Fire Chief Dan Young said there was a possibility they could revive him because the water was cold and he'd been under water for about 50 minutes.
Miller recently quit his job at the local Wal-Mart, according to his friends. He has a child with a girlfriend, but they have not been together for awhile, his friend said.