A woman was rescued from Lake Michigan after she fell off a jet ski that she was a passenger on near the Waukegan Harbor Friday afternoon.
The Waukegan Fire Department and Waukegan Police Department responded around 2:45 p.m. Friday to Bay Marine of Chicago, 3 East Madison Street, for a report of a water rescue.
Waukegan Fire Department Fire Marshal Todd Zupec said crews received a report of a couple of people in the water but they were canceled upon arriving.
Zupec said two people were reported to have fallen off a wave runner but were out of the water and “all good.”
Waukegan resident Bill Barron told Lake and McHenry County Scanner he was sitting down by Lake Michigan when the incident occurred.
He said he saw Bay Marine employees launching a jet ski and taking it out for a short test run in the harbor.
The jet ski was brought back down to the dock and two employees, a male driver and a female passenger, boarded, Barron said.
The jet ski proceeded to leave the harbor and go around the green lighthouse but the jet ski encountered rough waves when it got into open water.
The female passenger fell off the jet ski and could not get back on, Barron said.
Bay Marine employees on maintenance golf carts went to the end of the Government Pier to help rescue her. One of the employees happened to be the woman’s father.
The employees were able to pull the woman out of the water on the rocks as the fire department was arriving, Barron said.
Barron said he used to kayak on Lake Michigan but sold it after he experienced a dangerous incident in the same area.