May 28, 2006 11:05 pm US/Central
Strong Current Kills Kayaker, Two Brothers
Mark And Bruce Sperling Were Trying To Save Fox River Kayaker Craig Fliege
by Rafael Romo
YORKVILLE, Ill. (CBS) ―
Family and friends on Sunday were mourning a church youth group leader and his brother, who were both killed as they tried to save a man whose kayak went over a dam in the Fox River.
As CBS 2's Rafael Romo reports, the men were all caught in a current so strong that it was almost impossible to break free.
Kayaker Craig Fliege, 38, went over the dam in the Fox River and got caught in a boil, or strong, swirling current in a dam, around 1:05 p.m. Saturday, authorities said.
Two brothers, Bruce Sperling, 31, and his brother Mark, 27, watched Fliege's kayak accident and ran into the river in an attempt to save him, but were themselves caught up in the current while attempting to help him, authorities said.
"The two guys were standing behind my store and they ran up; next thing I knew they were running across down below the dam trying to save the guy and they got sucked into the dam too," said witness Greg Freeman, who owns a nearby bait shop.
The undercurrent in a boil is so strong that it sucks down anything that falls into it, including things that float.
"It took the firemen a good half hour to 45 minutes after the bodies were recovered to retrieve the kayak," Yorkville police Chief Harold Martin said.
The three men were all recovered and taken to Rush-Copley Medical Center and Provena Mercy Center, both in Aurora, where they were all later pronounced dead, authorities said.
Bruce Sperling was the leader of the youth group at Lombard Bible Church.
"He was more than a leader; he was more like a friend too," said youth group member Amber Kasnick. "He would always take us out for lunch or breakfast and we'd just talk about what we wanted to learn and he would just chill with us."
Tonight, he would have met for the last time with the members of his group before a summer break.
"He impacted our lives in so many ways," said youth group member Nathan Greene. "Every day he would be there for whoever needed help or needed comfort. He was there 24/7."
Added youth group member Anna King: "He could walk into a store and within five minutes know the person behind the counter, where they went to school, their favorite food was. He was just that kind of person."
Church member Anna Freetly said Bruce Sperling was following the example he used throughout his life when he died.
"He died the way he lived -- trying to help someone else," Freetly said. "That's no surprise to us."
Martin said there have been almost 20 drowning deaths in the same spot since the dam was built in the 1960s.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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