Body recovered after boat accident in Lake Michigan near Navy Pier; 6 others injured: CFD
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A body was recovered after a boat hit a break wall and overturned in Lake Michigan near Navy Pier Friday morning, injuring six others, authorities said.
Chicago police said a group of seven adults were on a boat returning to shore at about 2:40 a.m. when the boat may have hit a break wall and capsized.
The CPD Marine Unit and CFD responded and four women and two men were rescued from the water.
Four women, ages 21, 22, 27 and 31 and two men, ages 38 and 40, were transported to Stroger and Northwestern Memorial hospitals in good condition.
The Cook County Medical Examiner identified the woman who died as 20-year-old Briana Joy Burden of Chicago.
Police and fire crews continued to search the lake for the missing woman, approximately 20 years old, until a body was recovered at around 10 a.m. in the vicinity of the accident, the fire department said.
The accident is an unfortunate reminder of how boaters need to be aware of their surroundings on the water.
"Anybody operating a boat, you need to know your navigational hazards," CFD Deputy District Chief Jason Lach said. "If you are operating any kind of a vessel out here in Lake Michigan, know your capabilities. Make sure you have life vests on board for everybody. With the hot weather, everyone is out enjoying themselves. Boat operators, do not be drinking and operating. Things can happen."
"I thought about it last night. I said to my friends, I'm like, it's just ridiculously dangerous," said Ted Widen, an experience boaterwho organizes boat parties in the Playpen.
Widen was out on Lake Michigan last night when he said the wind picked up and it quickly became dark.
"If you don't know what you're doing in Chicago, it's treacherous, because the break walls around the playpen and navy pier, they are not marked at all. They are there, they're right at the entrance. But we are talking about at least 2 miles of break wall with no lights on it. So, if you don't know what you're doing, you had too much to drink, forget about it," he said.
While authorities were searching for the missing boater, they found a man's body around 9 a.m. That body was not connected to the boat accident.
The cause of the accident is under investigation. It is unclear if alcohol played a factor in the accident, if the person driving the boat was licensed, or what exactly caused the crash.
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