A 62-year-old man has died after his ATV fell through the ice and he had to be rescued from Druce Lake in unincorporated Lake Villa Wednesday afternoon.
An autopsy showed Rodney Allard, 62, of Lake Villa, died as a result of drowning, according to Lake County Coroner’s Office Chief Deputy Stephen Newton.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Gurnee Fire Department responded around 4:05 p.m. Wednesday to Grant Avenue and Lake Shore Drive in unincorporated Lake Villa for a report of an ATV that went through thin ice.
Dispatchers initially received reports that there were two people on the ATV when it went into the water on Druce Lake, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived within two minutes of being dispatched and observed Allard, who was underwater.
A sheriff’s deputy used a rowboat from a nearby resident and rowed to the area in the water where the man was last seen, Covelli said.
A fire department diver arrived and deputies directed the diver to where Allard was last seen.
The diver located the man approximately six feet below the surface of the water and attached a rope to him, Covelli said.
Firefighters and deputies used the rope to pull Allard to shore. The man, who lives just east of the lake, was not breathing.
Paramedics and deputies performed CPR on Allard and he was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville in “very” critical condition, Covelli said.
Allard was pronounced dead hours after the incident, Newton said.
A preliminary investigation showed the man was driving an ATV on the lake. Witnesses say he was the only person on the ATV.
As the man approached the center of the lake, the backside of his ATV broke through thin ice, Covelli said.
Allard and the ATV then dropped into the water.
Sheriff’s detectives were at the scene investigating but foul play is not suspected.