Father struck by lightning while fishing with son at Naperville-area lake

A 33-year-old father and his 13-year-old son were fishing at Whalon Lake near Naperville when they were injured after a lightning strike, authorities said Monday.

The father was struck by the lightning and fell into the water. When the boy tried to call for help, he fell and injured his leg, according to authorities.

A water rescue team from the Naperville Fire Department pulled the father out of the water about 1:30 p.m. with severe injuries, Deputy Chief Andy Dina said.

The Naperville crew removed the father from the lake, which is inside a Will County forest preserve, before assisting fire agencies from Aurora, Bolingbrook, Downers Grove, Lisle-Woodridge or Warrenville could arrive.

"They had him out of the water within minutes," Dina said.

The Naperville Fire Department took the father to Edward Hospital, while an ambulance from Bolingbrook transported the boy.

After the father was pulled in, authorities found he didn't have a pulse and wasn't breathing. Emergency crews and Edward Hospital medical personnel were able to restore both, while paramedics assisted the boy on shore with a minor leg injury.

The water rescue occurred shortly after firefighters finished responding to an attic fire that began before storms rolled through.

The cause of the fire on Waxwing Avenue just south of 75th Street remains under investigation. Dina said the residents who were home at the time evacuated before firefighters arrived, and no one was injured. The fire remained confined largely to the attic.

"We were just wrapping that up and then this call came in," Dina said. "So it's been a pretty nutty Labor Day."

• Daily Herald correspondent Henry Redman contributed to this report.