New cell phone video shows the harrowing moment when a boat backed into a group of people who were floating in the “Playpen” on Lake Michigan, severely injuring two women in the process.
The video, shot by NBC 5 viewer Justin Jachimiec, shows the boat backing into a floating raft, where eight people were enjoying a day on the water.
“It was strange to see someone backing up,” Ted Widen, an AMP Boat representative who was on the lake, said. “You just don’t back up through the ‘Playpen.’ You know people are swimming everywhere. It’s a dangerous thing, and you know nothing good is going to come of it.”
Widen was one of dozens who watched the incident unfold.
“He just kept going until he crashed into that lily-pad and that boat,” he said. “I thought they were friends, and I thought they were just backing up to do a back-to-back tie-up. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen in Lake Michigan.”
The Chicago Police Department’s marine unit quickly sprang into action after the incident.
“There were six-to-eight individuals on the flotation raft. While they were on that raft, another boat reversed into them, sucking them right underneath he boat,” Art Pachnik of the CPD’s Marine Unit said.
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Two women suffered severe injuries, including one victim who had both of her feet severed in the collision.
“We threw the victim over our shoulders and transported her, and put the victim onto our boat,” Pachnik said.
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Another woman suffered a severe hand injury, and that’s where the AMP Boat showed its unique features. Widen says that his work partner was showcasing what the hybrid boat and vehicle could do when he happened upon the scene.
“Mark just showed up at the right place and the right time, and he saw what was going on,” Widen said. “She was grabbing her husband, and he was going under, and Mark realized what was going on, so he kills the engine, pulled him onboard and pulled her onboard.”
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is investigating the incident, and it is not known at this time whether any charges will be filed.
