2 Die In Richton Park Drowning; Man Tried To Save Sister-In-Law

RICHTON PARK, IL — A woman is heartbroken after watching both her husband and sister drown on Lake George in the Richton Park Lakewood subdivision over the weekend. Laura Ballenger talked to ABC-7 Chicago about the ordeal of witnessing the drowning deaths of her husband, 24-year-old Daniel Ballenger of Lansing and her sister, 28-year-old Debbie Hill of Richton Park.

Laura Ballenger told the news station her husband tried to save her sister's life. Neither drowning victim was able to survive. Both were pronounced dead at Franciscan Health Olympia Fields, Daniel Ballenger at 9:39 a.m. on March 1 and Debbie Hill little more than an hour later at 10:50 a.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

Ballenger's death has been ruled an accident (witness drowning) and Hill's remains pending an investigation, the Medical Examiner's Office said.

Ballenger was a self-taught musician and Hill a talented writer, Laura Ballenger told ABC.