Man jumps into icy Lake Michigan to rescue 8-month-old baby

CHICAGO (LifeSiteNews) — A man saved an eight-month-old baby girl from drowning in Lake Michigan after he jumped into its icy waters.

Lio Cundiff, 30, was taking a walk along Belmont Harbor in Chicago while wishing a happy belated birthday to his aunt on the phone when he heard a woman scream and saw a stroller with a baby inside swept into Lake Michigan by a strong gust of wind.

“I wasn’t going to let that baby die,” Cundiff, who reportedly does not swim, told Fox10 from a nearby hospital, where his heart was being monitored after the rescue. 

“I immediately dropped my phone, threw my jacket off,” Cundiff told Block Club Chicago. “I realized the woman was in too much shock to do anything, which is more than understandable. So I thought, ‘I guess I’m going in.’”

Cundiff jumped into the water and grabbed ahold of the stroller, with the baby still strapped in. 

“I just held the stroller up,” Cundiff said. “I was thinking, ‘I’ve got to keep her head above water.’ I was just trying to keep her safe. That was my only thought.”

He said at times, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to keep her afloat. 

“At that point, I was like, if she’s going down, I’m going down with her,” he said. “I couldn’t live with myself if that baby hadn’t made it.”

“I’m just glad the stroller was up and not face down. The baby dipped under a couple times, but I was able to keep her up,” Cundiff told Fox10.

Bystanders soon made haste to pull Cundiff and the baby ashore.

One passerby, Luis Kapost, threw out the sleeve of his jacket so that Cundiff could grab onto it while still holding the stroller. Another bystander found a life ring and threw it towards Cundiff. 

“I honestly didn’t think I’d be able to hold onto the sleeve and hold onto the baby at the same time,” Cundiff said. “Luis throwing that jacket down helped me so much. I didn’t know how long I was going to be able to keep either of us afloat.”

Kapost and the baby’s nanny helped pull Cundiff and the baby ashore.

“It took forever,” Kapost, an American Airlines pilot, told Chicago Sun Times. “It probably happened in the span of five minutes.”

“That’s the epitome of a hero, someone who’s going to act, to help somebody else they don’t know even though they’re placing their own life in danger,” Kapost said. “He’s an absolute rock star.”

Kapost said another passerby called 911.

Cundiff said the baby girl was “breathing and crying” when they emerged. She was found to be in good condition at Lurie Children’s Hospital.

The 30 year-old was kept overnight at Illinois Masonic Medical Center after tests showed he had elevated enzyme levels.

“They were worried about my heart,” Cundiff said. “They wanted to monitor that and make sure there were no blood clots or anything like that.”

He was released from the hospital on Thursday night and has said his heart is doing well and that he is “feeling good.” He is in touch with the family of the baby girl, who he said is “doing great.”