Wauconda residents pull ATV riders out of icy water

A Glendale Heights man and his daughter did their polar bear plunge a day early when their ATV crashed through the ice New Year's Eve.

Brian Kuceba and his 9-year-old daughter were visiting friends in Wauconda and riding near a retention pond around 9 p.m. when the vehicle hit the ice patch, said Wauconda police officer Heather Caroselli.

Patrick Burke, 2558 Savanna Drive, was outside shoveling and saw the Kucebas fall.

Burke and neighbor Pete Hurst pulled the father and daughter out of the water. Neither man could be reached for comment Thursday.

"By the time we got there, everyone was out," Caroselli said. "They were very lucky. It could have been a lot worse. (Burke) definitely did his good deed for the year."

Caroselli said Kuceba and his daughter were treated for minor injuries, including frostbite.

Kuceba could not be reached for comment.

Caroselli said police believe Kuceba simply missed seeing the ice because of the snow.