Man rescued in boating accident

WONDER LAKE – Two men in their 20s were alive Saturday after their paddle boat capsized on Wonder Lake.

One was rescued by a private citizen, and the other was able to swim to shore, Wonder Lake Fire Department Assistant Chief Mike Weber said.

The rescued man was taken to Centegra Hospital-McHenry with injuries that were not life threatening.

Neither of the men’s names were released.

The incident happened about 9 a.m., and Sheila Javor, a part-time Wonder Lake resident who lives on the east side of the lake, was the first to notice the men.

She said she was sitting at her kitchen table at her lakefront home when she heard a cry for help.

“It looked like a boat had capsized,” Javor said.

Javor then called 911 and got her son Ken Javor, 21, who, with the help of family friend Grahm Failor, 12, got on a jet ski in his pajamas and raced out onto the water.

“I cruised out there and saw a guy floating on his back and went up to him, and he was swallowing water and asking for help, so I pulled him up,” Ken Javor said. “He was screaming that his friend was still out there somewhere.”

Ken Javor brought the man to shore and went out looking for the friend.

Wonder Lake Fire Department officials arrived and after searching the water, realized that the second man was safe on the west shore, Weber said.

The owner of the boat has yet to be identified.

Neither of the men were wearing life jackets and officials are investigating whether alcohol was a factor in the incident.

“All of this could have been prevented if the two men had been wearing life jackets,” Weber said.

Shelia Javor said she’s just glad everyone is all right.

“It’s important to be careful,” she said. “It’s something that your worry about, but it’s something that on a beautiful Saturday morning, you don’t think that you’re going to be life saving somebody.”