BENTON – The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office learned early Tuesday morning that the man rescued from a submerged vehicle at Rend Lake Monday night passed away.
Sheriff Kyle Bacon says around 5:40 p.m., a 911 call came in from a fisherman reporting a vehicle underwater at the Rend Lake Conservancy District boat ramp on Illinois 154 near Larry Foster Parkway near Whittington. Several fire and police agencies along with AMR Ambulance responded to the scene.
A Benton Fire Department dive team, assisted by an Illinois State Police trooper, went into the water and pulled the man from the vehicle. Life saving measures began. The man was taken by ambulance to Franklin Hospital in Benton, then airlifted to Deaconess Hospital in Evansville, Indiana. The sheriff’s office was notified about his death at about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday. The man’s name has not been released.
The sheriff says the incident remains under investigation.
