TOWN OF OTTAWA, Wis. — A man fell through the ice on Pretty Lake and nearby ice fishermen saved him by throwing a rope and pulling him to safety, according to the Western Lakes Fire District.
Jim Hajducki reached out to TMJ4 to tell us about his son's, Jake Hajducki, and friend's, Jack Brown, Dillion Sickles and Joe, heroic deeds.
According to Hajducki, it was another day on the ice. There were about six inches supporting their weight. A man strolled by, enjoying the day, and asked them if they caught any good fish. They happily responded and the moment passed with the crunch of the ice under his feet as he walked away.
What felt like seconds later, Jake alerted the group the man was no longer there.
"That guy went in the water," Jim recalled his son exclaiming.
Jim asked his group to call 911.
The man could still be seen at the surface of the water, so Jake took his dad's ice picks and tossed them to the man so he could hold on to the ice.
Joe and Dillion grabbed a rope and headed over to help. Jake took the rope from them, laid down on the ice, and began to crawl over to the man.
"As a dad watching your son risk his life to save someone really hit emotions," Jim said.
Even though Jim was worried, he said there was no way he could stop Jake from helping.
Jake has been ice fishing with his dad since he could walk, according to Jim, and at 20 years old he has a wealth of experience.
He threw the rope to the soaked man, and with his friends and dad's help they pulled him out of the water and onto shore.
They helped him take off his outer layers, brought him into their car, and warmed him up.
By the time WLFD made it to the scene, he was stable. Paramedics took him to a local hospital as a precaution.
"The actions of these nearby fishermen made a true difference in the male's outcome," WLFD wrote in a post on Facebook.
According to WLFD, teams went to Pretty Lake for training on department equipment and they noticed the ice conditions were unstable and urged the public to be cautious on the ice.
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