‘It’s utterly amazing’: 13-year-old Buffalo Grove teen saves man from near drowning

On a recent hot summer day, Jaydynn Britva was hanging out with friends at a Lincolnshire lake when he heard the screams of a drowning man calling for help.

Within a couple seconds, the 13-year-old jumped into the water.

“I thought he was faking it,” Jaydynn said. “But then, I realized that he wasn’t.”

At 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 144 pounds, Jaydynn grabbed the 19-year-old man and pulled him to shore, thinking: “I’ve got to save this guy.”

“He looked like he had so much water going into his lungs,” Jaydynn said. “I didn’t want him to drown or have something happen to him.”

Afterward, Jaydynn said he felt relieved.

“I hope more people do it,” he said, reflecting on the rescue. “Not just turn their back and let them drown.”

Jaydynn, an eighth-grader this fall at Aptakisic Junior High School in Buffalo Grove, has an athletic background, including wrestling and track. He said the man was a similar build, which made pulling him out of the water difficult but not impossible.

He says people shouldn’t be afraid of stepping up to help someone who is drowning, regardless of whether they are older or heavier.

Shortly after Jaydynn’s quick-thinking rescue, Lincolnshire police officers arrived around 5:49 p.m. Tuesday at the beach at Spring Lake Park. Officers found the 19-year-old lying on a grassy area nearby. He told authorities he experienced a severe leg cramp while swimming, which made it difficult for him to stay afloat, said Lincolnshire Deputy Police Chief Kimberly Covelli.

The man periodically was submerged when Jaydynn heard his cries and came to his aid, Covelli said.

“A 13-year-old boy had the wherewithal to hear something like that and immediately react, it’s utterly amazing,” she said. “We’re extremely grateful and proud.”

The Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District also responded to the medical emergency around 5:51 p.m. The 19-year-old was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for treatment. His condition is unknown at this time.

Jaydynn’s mom, Elina Britva, of Buffalo Grove, was overcome with emotion when she heard of what had happened.

“I was crying in complete joy and happiness,” said Britva, a home health care nurse. “I was like what an amazing child I raised. I can’t believe that he was willing to do something like that for somebody else. I’m just so amazed and proud of this kid.”

While Jaydynn doesn’t have formal CPR training, his mom demonstrated it for him a couple times when he was younger.

“He just kind of naturally knows what to do in an emergency,” she said. “I’ve always taught him what to do, how to look for things, to be aware of your surroundings and if you can help, always be kind.

“If we teach kids to be happy and positive and … care about everybody, we can change a lot of this world because this is our future.”