Waukesha County lake ice rescue, nearby fishermen jump into action
WAUKESHA COUNTY, Wis. - It happened in a split second. A man walking on the ice in Waukesha County fell into the lake below on Saturday, Dec. 14.
That’s when nearby ice fishermen jumped into action to help save his life.
The men returned to Pretty Lake in the Town of Ottawa to share their story with FOX6.
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Waukesha County lake ice rescue, fishermen pull man to safety
A man was rescued after he fell through lake ice in Waukesha County on Saturday morning, Dec. 14. It happened on Pretty Lake in Ottawa.
Beyond the dense fog covering Pretty Lake, you can find a clear view of the fishermen responsible for an ice rescue.
"We all kind of just sprung into action," said Jack Brown.
"I get goosebumps myself thinking about it," said Jake Hajducki.
Jake Hajducki, his dad Jim, and friends Jack Brown, Joey Ohberg, and Dillion Sickles met at the lake on Saturday morning to go ice fishing.
"We were actually catching fish. Everyone had gotten on the board," Jack said.
The fishing fun didn’t last.
"For some reason, just caught out of the corner of my eye," said Jake, who just then noticed a man had fallen through the ice.
"I saw him sitting there with his arms up on the ice, all you could see was his head was sticking up out of the ice. Just that much. That’s when I knew something was seriously wrong here," he added.
He walked toward the man.
"I got as close as I could to him and then the ice started cracking below my feet. I couldn’t get any closer to him," Jake said.
He slid the man ice picks, but he couldn’t pull himself out of the icy water.
They needed something else.
"We need rope and something to throw with the rope," jake said.
"We started running to houses, banging on doors, trying to find rope," said Joey.
A neighbor gave them rope. They went back out on the ice and tossed it to the man.
"He tied the rope below his shoulders and then all four us, as much as we could, pulled him right out," said Jake.
They walked him to a warm car before first responders arrived.
"We put the heat on max, had it going," added Joey.
The Western Lakes Fire District trained on Pretty Lake last week.
Crews warn ice conditions are unstable throughout the winter due to the large number of springs and flowing water.
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This group always thinks of their safety.
"A spud bar and spikes. Every single person should have that on them when walking on the ice," Jake noted.
It was an unexpected fishing trip this group won’t soon forget.
"It was cool how we all came together, and just helped each other get him out of there," said Dillion.