Woman jumps into Fox River, saved by firefighter

An Elgin woman jumped from the Kimball Street bridge into the Fox River in downtown Elgin Tuesday afternoon and was pulled to safety by firefighters.

Her condition and why she jumped in was not immediately clear, although officials said she would live.

Elgin Fire Department Batallion Chief Greg Benson said authorities received a call at about 12:06 p.m. of a woman who jumped in the river, south of the Kimball Street dam.

The woman, who Benson said was in her late teens or 20s, drifted south past Walton Island before a firefighter pulled her to safety at about 12:18 p.m.

The firefighter was in a special suit to help with flotation and tethered to other rescue personnel on the south side of the river near the Highland Avenue bridge, Benson said.

The woman did not resist rescue attempts, he added.

Authorities did not release her name.

Benson said the woman was transported to Sherman Hospital in Elgin. He said it was unclear why she jumped in.

"With cold water like that, you become hypothermic very quickly," Benson said. "We don't know how long she was in there before we got the call."

Josh McColough, spokesman for Sherman Hospital, said he could not comment further because of patient privacy laws.

South Elgin Fire Protection District personnel also were in the process of preparing to launch a rescue boat when the woman was pulled to safety.