Teen rescued from floodwaters in Carol Stream

As Patrick Heideman paddled in an inflatable boat through the floodwaters that engulfed a local park, the Carol Stream man spotted a teen splashing around about 200 feet away.

At first, Heideman thought the teen was just having some ill-advised fun on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Then he heard the desperate cries for help.

"We were at the other end of the park," said Heideman, who was in the boat with his 13-year-old son, Jonathan. "We were paddling like hell trying to get to him. He went under several times."

The unidentified 18-year-old Carol Stream teen had physically recovered Monday, one day after being rescued from high floodwaters that ravaged parts of Armstrong Park.

Three teens floating on flood-swollen Salt Creek found themselves in similar trouble Monday evening when they were pulled downstream by the current, prompting a complicated rescue by both the Villa Park and Elmhurst fire departments.

All three teens in that case also were lucky enough to escape without serious injury.

At about 3:30 p.m. Sunday, as the Heidemans tried to reach the teen in Carol Stream, an off-duty Elmhurst police detective who lives in the area already had jumped into the water to help. At 6 feet, 3 inches tall, detective Paul Carney said the water was so deep, he couldn't even touch the bottom. He swam some 50 yards to reach the teen.

"It was one of those screams where you realize, 'Holy cow, something is wrong,'" Carney said. "I realized this guy wasn't playing. He was panicking and going under. I told him to try to float on his back so I wouldn't lose sight of him."

Though exhausted, Carney said he had pulled the teen about 10 to 15 feet back toward the shore when Heideman reached them with the boat.

"Thank God they got there because, by the time I reached him, I had nothing left," Carney said. "I've been doing this (police work) 23 years and I've never ever had to go in and grab someone like this. I can really appreciate lifeguards and what they have to do."

Patrick Heideman and Carney said they held onto the teen as Jonathan paddled the boat back to shore.

"He was out of gas," Heideman said of the teen. "He had swallowed some water. Once he knew we were coming, he calmed down. The only thing I remember him saying is, 'I'm going to faint. I'm going to pass out.'"

By that time, someone had called 911. A crowd of about 40 people had gathered.

Paramedics rushed the teen to Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield for observation. He was released shortly later.

The teen told rescuers he was trying to take a shortcut through the park to reach a friend's house when he suddenly got in over his head ˆ­-- literally. The 74-acre park includes a lake and detention area. Authorities said it can be difficult in such conditions to gauge where the ground deviates.

"I'm just so glad we got to him in time," Patrick Heideman said. "I think he was just exhausted. If you're not Michael Phelps, you have no business being out there."

Villa Park fire officials said someone heard the three teens there screaming for help at 6 p.m. Monday at North Avenue where it crosses Salt Creek. When crews arrived, they saw the trio hanging on to a tree in the fast-moving water about 50 feet upstream from a viaduct, said Lt. Steve Stapleton, of the Villa Park Fire Department.

While firefighters donned their cold-weather water suits, Elmhurst Fire Department brought their water-rescue boat, which was tied to a point along the shore and maneuvered near the three people in the water, Stapleton said. Each was plucked from the tree and put into the boat.

The entire rescue took about 45 minutes, he said.

Each of the teenagers was treated at the scene but refused further medical treatment at a hospital.

Stapleton said it appeared they were floating in the water upstream, underestimated the current and were swept downstream where they were lucky enough to catch the tree branches before being swept into the viaduct.

• Daily Herald Staff Writer Catherine Edman contributed to this report.