Teenagers given posthumous hero medals

The two teenage boys who drowned while trying to save another boy's life after he jumped from a sinking paddleboat into the Fox River in November 2008 have been awarded posthumous Carnegie Hero Fund Commission Medals for heroism.

Jimmy Avant, 18, of Chicago and Adrian Alexander Jones, 16, of Maywood, were among the 22 recipients Thursday of the Carnegie Medal, which is given to individuals throughout the United States and Canada who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree while saving or attempting to save the lives of others. The award is named for industrialist-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, who founded the commission in 1904.

The teens died while trying to save Melvin Choice, 17, of Chicago after he jumped into the Fox River near Camp Algonquin. The three, all students of North Lawndale College Prep, a charter school on Chicago's west side, were attending an 8-day leadership conference at Camp Algonquin.

The boys were among a group of students that had sneaked out of their dormitories about 1 a.m. to try to ride paddleboats across the Fox River. Unknown to the teens, small plugs at the bottom of the paddleboats had been removed for the winter, causing them to sink rapidly.

The boat Choice was aboard with two others began to take on water about halfway across the 300-foot-wide river. Choice dove headfirst into the river in an attempt to lighten the load, but struggled to stay afloat in the 8-foot deep water. Avant and Jones jumped into the 42-degree water to save Choice, but drowned.