Man Died a 'Hero' as He Tried to Save Passengers After Boat Capsized on Lake Michigan, Wife Says
Lorenzo Tobin didn't know the passengers personally, but was there as a deckhand, according to his wife
Lorenzo Tobin/Facebook
Lorenzo TobinA man who died after a boat capsized on Lake Michigan is being remembered as a hero by his wife.
On Friday, July 26, 40-year-old Lorenzo Tobin of Country Club Hills, Illinois, went missing, and tragically two days later his body was pulled from Lake Michigan, according to local ABC affiliate WLS-TV.
Tobin was hired to take a group out on Lake Michigan for a birthday party, according to his wife, Lesley Jackson-Tobin, who said witnesses told her he was trying to save passengers and hand out life jackets in the immediate aftermath of the chaos.
"Lorenzo didn't know the people whose birthday it was. He was just there as, like, a deckhand," she told the outlet, noting that her husband was a strong swimmer.
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In their grief, the family is looking for answers.
“We’re trying to get a better understanding of what happened on that boat,” brother Steven Tobin told the Chicago Sun Times.
Related: 20-Year-Old Woman Dies After Getting Trapped Under Capsized Boat on Lake Michigan
Chicago police said that Tobin was on the boat with 16 other people before it crashed, according to local FOX affiliate WFLD. At some point, Tobin fell into the water and did not resurface until he was found at approximately 12:45 p.m. local time on Sunday, July 28.
Three additional people aboard the boat were hospitalized but in good condition, the outlet reported.
Representatives from the Chicago Police Department and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
While the details of the day remain unclear, Jackson-Tobin said one thing is crystal clear: her husband died a hero.
"He's a hero," she said. "And I feel like even if he had not been on that boat, would have just been walking by, he would have done the same thing."
An investigation is ongoing.
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