WOODLAWN — Jasmine Bates was having an "easy day" when she heard an emergency call over the radio at 63rd Street Beach earlier this month.
Within seconds, the swim instructor and her crew of lifeguards were at the shore ready to jump into action, Bates recalled this week. The lifeguards saved the life of an 11-year-old boy after he fell out of a boat on Lake Michigan near the beach, but the boy's uncle, James R. Hammond of Albany Park, died trying to save him.
The crew of lifeguards were honored with a standing ovation for their heroic efforts at the Chicago Park District board meeting this week.
Bates, who has worked for the Park District for 13 years, said the lifeguards noticed a person floating out by past the white buoys that mark the swimming area in the water.
Two lifeguards then got into a boat and were able to pull the 11-year-old boy aboard. Bates, who was on the shore, radioed to see what was happening, soon heard that the boy's uncle was missing in the water.
When the lifeguards returned to shore, they gave the 11-year-old oxygen and turned back to try to find his uncle, starting a dive line with help from the U.S. Coast Guard Chicago Police Marine Unit, Bates said.
"It's never a good feeling to know there’s someone else out there, but we don’t know where they are," Bates said. "The adrenaline definitely kicked in just seeing an 11-year-old taking in a lot of water [and] giving him oxygen. He’s in a frenzy; I'm just trying to get him to calm down and tell myself like 'Jaz, you got this. I’m here; he needs me right now.'"
Relatives said the boy's uncle had been in the water for nearly half an hour when divers from a rescue helicopter found him.The team began giving him CPR, but were not able to save him, Bates said.
Hammond was taken to University of Chicago Medicine in "extremely critical" condition, Fire Deputy District Chief Ron Dorneker said. The 31-year-old, of the 4400 block of North Drake Street, later was pronounced dead, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed.
The 11-year-old boy was taken to Comer Children's Hospital and has been released.
Bates said she was "freaking out" internally during the emergency, but as a captain, she knew she had to keep her cool to lead the Park District lifeguards on scene.
"I was definitely nervous. I would never say I wasn’t," she said. "I really have to give shout-outs to my staff for their diligence for getting the patrons out of the water and turning back around and trying to find the other patron."
Hammond was in a small powerboat with three relatives when Hammond's nephew fell into the water. The boy was wearing a life jacket, but the man was not, officials said.
Hammond’s brother, Michael Hammond, said his nephew fell out of a swimming ring and James jumped in to help him, leaving Michael’s 7-year-old daughter and a 9-year-old friend in the boat. Michael said his brother was 5 feet away from the 11-year-old nephew when he was pulled under water by the riptide.
Michael said his daughter called him from the boat when her uncle didn’t come back up.
“She was frantic, saying, ‘I can’t see Uncle James,’” Michael said.
Michael said James didn’t have any kids, but he would take his niece and nephew out on the boat when he wasn’t at work selling motorcycles.
“He’s been on that boat every day since the weather broke,” Michael said.
While Bates was impressed with the courage of her team, she said this was an event she'd never forget, especially considering her team's job is to prevent emergencies, not react to them.
"One of the hardest things for me was to reassure [the boy] crying. I have a daughter myself. This is something I will always remember, definitely," she said.
The lifeguards were honored at the Chicago Park District board meeting this week. [DNAinfo/Josh McGhee]
