Friend, good Samaritan pull angler from Fox River channel near Antioch

Two people rescued a 73-year-old Lake County man who fell into a Fox River channel while trying to retrieve a fishing line Friday afternoon.

The 73-year-old, who lives in an unincorporated area near Antioch, is in critical condition, according to Lake County sheriff's deputies.

One of the rescuers, a 74-year-old man from Winthrop Harbor, was fishing with the victim in a small watercraft when the incident occurred.

One of the men got their fishing line tangled in the weeds, deputies said. The victim attempted to retrieve the line but fell into the cold water and was submerged for one to two minutes.

The 74-year-old attempted to hold the victim's head above water from the boat. He was assisted by a good Samaritan, a 48-year-old man from Villa Park who heard the 74-year-old man's calls for help and jumped into the water to help.

Sheriff's deputies responded at 1:35 p.m. to the scene at the channel on the 38500 block of North Lakeside Place in unincorporated Lake County near Antioch. They arrived as the victim was being pulled from the water.

The victim was taken by ambulance to Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital.