Trio of Teens Drown in Fox River

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Nov 14, 2008 9:30PM

Three Chicago teens - Jimmie Avant, 18, Melvin Choice III, 17 and Adrian Jones, 16 - died when their paddleboat sank into the Fox River early this morning. It seems two of the boys died when the boat capsized and the third died after attempting to rescue the other two. Conditions of the river delayed recovery of the bodies; the last body was pulled from the river shortly before 11 a.m. this morning. All three boys were students at North Lawndale College Prep and were participating in an eight-day leadership camp.

The boat was one of many that teens had taken out onto the river and all had trouble staying afloat. The bottom plugs had been removed for "winterizing" and investigators are still trying to determine why the boats were still on the campgrounds and accessible to the students. Julie Didier, a spokeswoman for the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District, described the river's conditions as murky with a fast current and said the water temperature was around 42 degrees. "It was difficult even for our divers and they are trained to go in under adverse conditions." Investigators also said notices were posted throughout the campsite advising students to stay away from the water. Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District Battalion Chief John Greene said he didn't expect any foul play in the deaths. “I don’t believe anything criminal happened, but that’s up to police. Shenanigans. That's what it looks like."

Meanwhile, administrators and students at the school were mourning their classmates. Assistant Principal LaCael Palmer-Pratt called the teens, “dynamic young men, which is why they were selected to participate in this program." Classmate Andrewniqia Halls said, "Everybody is just crying. They just feel so down about it because they was like real family members to us." [Trib, S-T]

AP Photo/David Banks