A heroic Illinois mother of three drowned after jumping into a river to save her seven-year-old son’s life.
Angelina Khalimendik, 31, entered the Des Plaines River at Independence Grover Forest Preserve just after 7 p.m. local time on Sunday after her child got swept up in the water, CBS Chicago reported.
Khalimendik, of Hinsdale, IL, was able to help her son reach another family member before she slipped underwater, according to the outlet.
Angelina Khalimendik, 31, drowned after jumping into the Des Plaines River near the Independence Grove Forest Preserve in Lake County to save her son. CBS News Chicago
She had taken her three kids, including an 11-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son, on a fishing trip while her husband was out of town, the outlet reported.
Khalimendik was pulled from the water by a relative and other bystanders before first responders reached the scene, NBC 5 Chicago reported.
CPR was performed, but she had already taken in too much water and was pronounced dead at Advocate Condell Medical Center.
Khalimendik’s death was “consistent with drowning,” NBC 5 reported, citing examination results from the Lake County Coroner’s Office.
Her death followed “torrential rains” in the area in the past week, Lake County Forest Preserves’ Police Chief Ron Davis told CBS Chicago.
“These bodies of water are flooded with not only extra water, but debris, fallen trees, branches, rocks, other things that are under the surface,” he said, while offering advice to anyone who may get into difficulty in the water.
Khalimendik had been on a fishing trip with her kids. CBS News Chicago
“If you are swept in the water, remain calm. Try to roll over on your back,” he told ABC 7.
“Use your arms and your feet as bumpers, pushing away at debris and branches and rocks that may be in your way, and try to get yourself in a position where you look closer to the shoreline, where you’re able to get yourself out or have people help you out safely,” Davis added.
More than 4,500 people drowned each year from 2020 to 2022 in the US, according to a study from the CDC.
Drowning is the number one cause of death for children aged 1-4 in the US, while almost 40 million American adults do not know how to swim and more than half have never taken a swimming lesson, the CDC reported.