Marlene Tare feels that Donovon Anderson, whose body was discovered in Lake Michigan near Carthage College last week, didn't need to die.
"The boy was above water long enough that had there been a ring at the end of the pier, he may have survived," she said.
Tare, who lives in Illinois, was visiting North Pier in Kenosha Sept. 6 when Anderson went in the water and didn't come out.
Marlene Tare feels people should be outraged that there aren't safety devices here on the pier, so much so, she's willing to put her own money forward to help the police department get devices.
"I witnessed a police officer run down the pier at full speed and basically just witness the boy drown," Tare said. "There was nothing he could do, he didn't have anything in his hands, I don't blame him whatsoever, but I just feel there could be more done."
She's now transforming grief into action.
"They carry fire extinguishers, why can't they carry these?" Tare said.
She's prepared to purchase 10 flotation devices for Kenosha police officers to carry in their vehicles. It's an investment of about $600 in the safety of a city she doesn't even live in.
"Basically, the reason I'm doing this is that I'm a mom. And I witnessed something nobody else should have to witness," she said.
Tare recalls looking for a flotation device on the pier as Anderson drowned. She didn't find one.
"I cried and believe it or not, I still cry," she said.
She tells us she later learned the Kenosha Sportfishing and Conservation Association has life preserver rings ready to be installed at the pier.
"I don't understand why it has taken nearly five years to put these life-saving devices on the pier, it's ridiculous," he said.
The group told TODAY'S TMJ4 last week the Army Corp of Engineers said they can't install the life preservers without an insurance policy.
Tare plans to go to the City Council's Public Safety meeting next Monday to share her offer and her pleas for a safer pier.
We have reached out to the Kenosha Police Department to see if they will take her up on her offer, but we haven't heard back.
