Wendella tour boat crew recues man who fell into Chicago River from Michigan Avenue Bridge
The crew and passengers on a Wendella tour boat rescued a man who fell from the Michigan Avenue Bridge into the Chicago River Friday morning.
Wendella said in a statement that around 11:30 a.m., a pedestrian fell from the bridge. Their boat's crew rescued him using their man overboard protocols.
The captain of the Wendella tour boat has only been on the job for a handful of years, and said this was his first man overboard rescue, but he spent decades as a suburban firefighter, training which certainly kicked in on Friday.
Captain Joe Ratzek was finishing up his first sightseeing tour of the day when he heard and saw an unmistakable splash.
"I had my training captain get on the wheel. I looked out with my binoculars, and it looked like a black plastic bag at first," he said.
But as Ratzek got closer, passengers on the boat and people on the bridge said someone had jumped into the river.
"We pulled up to him. He was face down in the water," Ratzek said.
The Wendella crew and passengers jumped into action and pulled the man from the frigid water onto the tour boat.
Ratzek, a retired Streamwood firefighter, said his experience as a first responder kicked in and kept him calm.
"For me, for not panicking. For all my deck hands, this is all new to them. So I was calm. This was like another call for me when I worked for the fire department," he said. "We had a nurse on board who wanted to help really badly. We let her kick in and do that."
Jessica Nath, an MRI technician visiting from Houston, just so happened to be on board, and administered CPR to the man they pulled out of the river.
"As the boat comes closer, we realize it is a person. You can see the back of the person, he's ... the patient's laying face-down, feet are kicking, and the boat captain maneuvered the boat where he used the boat hook, brought the patient in," she said. "We booked this time, we were at this bridge, and I felt like I was meant to be there."
Nath gave CPR while the crew administered an automated external defibrillator. Chicago Fire Department medics waiting on the dock took over when they pulled up.
Andrew Sargis said his staff at the Wendella train for this extensively. Their boat was the only one running tours on the river on Friday.
"Water is frigid," he said. "This is a very dangerous situation."
Nath is also no stranger to emergency response; she's worked as an MRI technologist in Texas for 12 years. But this is the first time she's had to use her training in public.
"I'm proud that I got to use my training to save a life. I never thought, I mean paramedics do it all the time, but I never thought I would be in a situation," she said.
A visibly emotional Nath said, if given the chance, she would like to meet the man she helped save.
"I would say, 'I love you, the city of Chicago loves you. I'm so happy that you are breathing and that you're alive.' And we just wish the best for him. I want to give him a hug," she said. "He has another chance, and I'm just grateful to be a part of that."
Chicago police said the man is 65 years old and was taken to Northwestern Hospital in good condition. They did not offer any further information.
