9/11 Survivor And Father Of 3 Drowns In Lake Michigan Trying To Rescue Child

WINNETKA, IL — The man who drowned in Lake Michigan on the 4th of July at Elder Lane Beach has been identified as a Lake County native who survived the 9/11 terror attacks before returning to the North Shore to raise his family.

Luke Laidley, 43, was pronounced dead Tuesday afternoon at Evanston Hospital after he jumping into the lake. The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office ruled his death an accident.

Laidley, of Winnetka, had been boating along the lakefront when a child fell off a raft the boat was pulling and he jumped in to help, witnesses said.

While in the water, he reportedly began to struggle and went under for about a minute.

Rescuers were called to the beach around 1:30 p.m., and Laidley's fellow boaters were able to bring him back onto the boat and began performing CPR before paramedics rushed him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 2 p.m.

Following his death, Laidley's family released a statement recounting how he had survived the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. That day, at age 21, Laidley had just started his first job working for investment bank Morgan Stanley on the 61st floor of World Trade Center.

"I encourage all of us to count our blessings each and every day," he would later write, according to his family. "Give of yourself and expect nothing in return. And become part of something that is greater than yourself."

One of the family's neighbors spoke of Laidley's generosity.

“He would have done anything for anyone,” Susan Rajkovisch told the Chicago Sun-Times. “They’re a lovely family, and he was such a wonderful man.”

Laidley is 12th person to die in Lake Michigan so far in 2023, according to the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project. He is the second to drown this year in the waters between Chicago and Milwaukee after the death of a Navy recruit who drowned after a night of St. Patrick's Day drinking in Waukegan.

Laidley leaves behind a wife and three children, as well as five siblings and 17 nieces and nephews. He designated himself as an organ donor, according to his family, who said his was a "life lived with purpose. A life lived to serve for others. A life lived as a hero."

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