Christopher M. Johnson helped to save Quintin Sconyers from drowning, Bolingbrook, Illinois, December 11, 2011. Quintin, 15, broke through the thin ice on a retention pond at a point about 25 feet from the closer bank and was unable to climb from the open water. Alerted to the situation, Johnson, 20, lifeguard, responded to the scene from the nearby aquatic complex where he was employed. After a second lifeguard responded with a rescue tube, Johnson crawled onto the ice with the tube and made his way toward Quintin. As he approached, Quintin submerged. Johnson immediately entered the frigid water, grasped Quintin, and returned him to the surface. After a brief struggle, Quintin held to the rescue tube as Johnson attempted to break a path through the ice to the bank. Firefighters were then arriving, and one of them donned an immersion suit, entered the water, and took both Johnson and Quintin to the bank. They were treated at the scene for hypothermia and then received further treatment at the hospital, Johnson needing treatment also for abrasions. They recovered.
84614 – 9559
84614-9559