Family and friends are mourning the “unimaginable” death of a 31-year-old mother of three who died from drowning while saving her son in a river in Libertyville, with them lauding her heroic actions.
Angelina Khalimendik, 31, of Hinsdale, was with her family at Independence Grove Forest Preserve, 16400 Buckley Road in Libertyville, on Sunday evening, according to Lake County Forest Preserves Police Chief Ron Davis and Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek.
Davis said the woman had entered the Des Plaines River in an attempt to assist her son in the water.
Khalimendik was successful in helping her son safely reach a family member but soon went underwater herself, Davis said.
The Libertyville Fire Department and Lake County Forest Preserves Police Department responded around 7 p.m. after receiving a call for a water rescue.
Multiple fire departments were dispatched with boats and divers but the incident was downgraded after it was reported that the victims were out of the water.
Davis said a family member and nearby bystanders rushed to rescue Khalimendik from the water.
Emergency crews arrived and paramedics began treating Khalimendik at the scene.
Fire department radio traffic indicated CPR was being performed on the woman, who was unconscious and not breathing.
Davis said paramedics transported Khalimendik to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville where she was pronounced dead.
The incident happened in the Des Plaines River, which flows through Forest Preserve property and falls under the jurisdiction of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, according to Lake County Forest Preserves Media & Community Relations Specialist Kim Mikus.
Khalimendik and her family were on Forest Preserves property before entering the river, Mikus said.
The woman’s employer, Hinsdale resident Teddy Wozny, who owns an accounting firm, said Khalimendik’s son Johnny got into trouble in the water and she went in after him “without a second thought.”
“Johnny is alive today because his mother chose him, without hesitation, in the last moments of her life. Angie was not just a coworker to those around her. Angie was family,” Wozny said.
Wozny said he had been neighborhood friends with Khalimendik for years before joining his team where she became a “constant, warm, generous presence in our lives and in the lives of our children.”
“Anyone who knew Angie knew someone kind, wonderful, hardworking, and deeply selfless. In the end, Angie gave everything to save her son,” Wozny said.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic death in the Des Plaines River near Libertyville on Sunday evening. Our thoughts are with the victim’s family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time,” Davis said.
An autopsy was performed on Monday morning and the preliminary results indicate Khalimendik died from drowning, Banek said.
Wozny said Khalimendik was a mother of three — two sons and a daughter — who are 7, 9 and 10 years old.
He said the family is left to navigate “the unimaginable.”
“… grieving a mother, a daughter, a sibling, a wife, and a friend, while also facing funeral expenses and the enormous adjustment of life without Angie. Angie’s three elementary-aged children need support now more than ever,” Wozny said.
A GoFundMe created for the funeral expenses has already raised over $30,000 from more than 300 donors.
No funeral arrangements have been announced yet.
Davis said that the area has experienced heavy rain recently and the river level is high and contains lots of debris, like fallen trees and branches under the surface. He called for people to stay out of the water.
The Lake County Forest Preserves Police and Lake County Coroner’s Office continue to investigate the circumstances of the incident.