Glen Ellyn elementary students honored for saving drowning man

ByABC7 Chicago Digital Team WLS logo
Thursday, October 5, 2023
Glen Ellyn students honored for saving drowning man
Four fifth grade boys were honored by Glen Ellyn first responders Thursday for saving man from drowning over the summer.

GLEN ELLYN, Ill. (WLS) -- There was lots of praise Thursday afternoon for four fifth graders in west suburban Glen Ellyn who saved a drowning man.

The Glen Ellyn school district honored Declan and Tiernan Devlin, Tommy Nitti and Charlie Valerio.

The boys saved a man struggling to swim in a lake back in June.

On the day of the rescue, the close friends heard a man struggling in the water Lake Ellyn. They ran and got a kayak and life vests from a garage, paddled out to the man and pulled him back to shore.

Declan shared that he had recently gone white-water rafting, which is why he knew what to do.

Glen Ellyn Police Chief presented the boys with a certificate for their bravery and quick thinking.