Drowning of Hanover Park man ruled an accident

A 19-year-old Hanover Park man who was swimming in Lake Michigan late Monday night with friends accidentally drowned, the Cook County medical examiner's office confirmed Tuesday.

Javier Rivera swam to a buoy about 50 yards offshore near the Ohio Street beach but couldn't make it back to shore, authorities said.

According to new reports, police initially responded to the beach, near 800 E. Ontario St., after a woman who witnessed Rivera drowning flagged down officers at about 9 p.m.

After a roughly 20-minute search with helicopters, Chicago Fire Department divers pulled an unconscious Rivera out of the water. Paramedics tried CPR but Rivera was unresponsive. He was transported in critical condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after 10:20 p.m., fire department spokesman Quention Curtis said.

The lake in that area is shallow up to a certain point and then the bottom drops off, Curtis said.