2 brothers die in Illinois after falling into freezing pond while visiting their grandmother
Boys were submerged in an IL pond for 20 minutes before rescue divers recovered their bodies
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Two young brothers died after they fell into an icy pond while visiting their grandmother in a Chicago suburb, authorities and relatives said.
Hours after Palatine firefighters pulled the boys from the pond Wednesday afternoon both youths died at local hospitals, police said. The Cook County Medical Examiner's office identified the boys as Romalice Brooks, 6, and Ro’Siah Brooks, 4.
Their causes of death remained under investigation Friday morning, said Johnnie Kearney, an investigator with the medical examiner's office.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}19-YEAR-OLD CHICAGO TEEN CHARGED IN DEATH OF 7-YEAR-OLD THAT WAS STRUCK BY A STRAY BULLET
Relatives said the boys were brothers. Their mother, Teghan Ivy, said her sons were visiting their grandmother with her Wednesday. Ivy said she was inside when she heard her sons screaming her name and looked to see them struggling in the pond's icy waters.
Two children died in a Chicago suburb pond after being submerged in icy waters.
Ivy said she tried to save her sons but she also fell through the ice and couldn't reach them.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}2 KILLED, 8 HOSPITALIZED IN CHICAGO WRONG-WAY CRASH
"I heard them, ‘Mommy! Mommy!’ And, I came outside. I did the only thing I knew to do. I took off my shoes and I got on that ice and tried to get them. I didn’t make it to them," Ivy told WLS-TV. "The ice cracked and I fell in, too."
Both boys were submerged for nearly 20 minutes before rescue divers pulled the unresponsive youths from the pond, the station reported.
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The siblings' relatives are now raising money for their burial through a GoFundMe campaign that has a goal of raising $15,000.