Man in very critical condition after ATV falls through thin ice on Druce Lake, sheriff's office says

THIRD LAKE, Ill. (WLS) -- A 62-year-old man was in very critical condition after his ATV fell through the ice on Druce Lake, the Lake County Sheriff's Office said.

Lake County Sheriff's Deputies were dispatched to Druce Lake in Third Lake for a report of an ATV that drove through thin ice at about 4:05 p.m. Wednesday.

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Sheriff's deputies who arrived at the scene observed a person underwater. One of the sheriff's deputies used a row boat from an area resident to go to the area in the water they last saw the man. Shortly after, a fire department diver arrived and the sheriff's deputy on the row boat directed him to where he last saw the man.

The diver located the man approximately six feet below the surface of the water and attached a rope to him and used it to pull the man to shore. The man was not breathing, so paramedics and sheriff's deputies conducted CPR. Paramedics transported the man to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville in very critical condition.

Preliminary investigation showed the man was operating an ATV on the lake. According to witnesses, he was the only person on the ATV and there was not a passenger. As the man approached the center of the lake, the rear of the ATV broke through the ice and then the entire ATV and the man dropped through the thin ice into the water.

Officials said the man lives just east of the lake and no foul play is suspected.