Woman Dies After Car Plunges Into Lake Michigan

By Anna Deem in News on Dec 6, 2009 8:00PM

An unidentified woman died after her car crashed through a barrier and drove into almost 12 feet of water at DuSable Harbor in Lake Michigan at about 7:50 a.m. this morning. Chicago Police and Chicago Fire Department divers transported the woman in critical condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Kevin MacGregor. She was pronounced dead at the hospital at 8:49 a.m.

There were no signs that the drive attempted to stop the vehicle before it hit the water, officials said. MacGregor said the car drove through a metal pole, down an embankment, through a garden area, and into the water. "There's not a skid mark here," he told the Chicago Tribune. Emergency crews pulled an older model Oldsmobile Cutlass sedan from the water and there was no indication that anyone else had been in the car besides the driver.

Christopher Cinnamon told the Tribune that he called 911 at about 7:30 a.m. after he looked out the window of his condo unit and saw a vehicle drive into the water. He said that he did not see brake lights or other signs that the woman attempted to stop her car before it hit the water. "We do see regular crashes on the curve on the Lake Shore...but never something this close or shocking," he said.