RICHTON PARK, Ill. (WLS/CNN) - A Chicago woman lost both her husband and older sister when the two drowned in the icy waters of a neighborhood lake.
The family of 24-year-old Daniel Ballenger, a self-taught musician working on his architecture degree, says he died a hero. (Source: Laura Ballenger/WLS/CNN)
Laura Ballenger and her husband, 24-year-old Daniel Ballenger, noticed early Sunday morning that her sister, 28-year-old Debbie Hill, had left her mother’s home in Richton Park, Illinois.
The couple walked down to the neighborhood lake, where they saw Hill’s jacket, but in the dark, they couldn’t see the woman herself. Laura Ballenger called her sister’s name, and from underneath the frozen lake, they heard noise.
“I could just hear small whimpers, like somebody was fighting,” Laura Ballenger said.
Without thinking twice, Daniel Ballenger dove into the water to try and find Hill. His wife begged him not to.
“But he jumped in because he knew how heartbroken I would be if I lost my sister,” Laura Ballenger said.
She says her husband was able to get Hill above the water for just a moment. In that time, she made eye contact with her husband for the last time, before both victims went under.
“I tried to save him, but the water was too cold. So, he just started sinking,” Laura Ballenger said. “I couldn’t do nothing about it because I can’t swim.”
Police officers and firefighters made multiple attempts to rescue the victims, but the lake’s frigid temperature forced them to retreat before divers came in. Daniel Ballenger and Hill were recovered and taken to the hospital, but they could not be resuscitated.
Moments apart, Laura Bellanger lost one of her older sisters, a talented writer, and her husband, a self-taught musician who was just two classes away from getting his architecture degree.
Daniel Ballenger’s family says they are saddened by his loss but comforted in their faith that he is in a better place. They say he died a hero.
“He left laying down his life for someone else, and if that’s not a loving person and an example to a great heart, I don’t know what is,” his mother said.
Copyright 2020 WLS, Laura Ballenger via CNN. All rights reserved.
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2 drown after man jumps in icy Ill. lake to try to save sister-in-law - WSAW
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