On Friday, July 5, 2024, at approximately 7:27 p.m., Whiteside County Deputies were dispatched to the boat launch in the 22000 block of Moline Road, in rural Sterling, IL. Initial information provided to Whiteside County Dispatchers was that a vehicle had gone into the river with a child inside. Deputies arrived on scene to find a male, identified as John Cavazos of Sterling, and his three-year-old son on the bank of the river. Cavazos told Deputies he and his family had been fishing, and his vehicle was parked near the boat launch. They started packing the vehicle to leave when, for unknown reasons, it came out of park[ing gear] and rolled into the river, with the three-year-old inside. As the vehicle sank, other bystanders at the boat launch called 911.
Cavazos jumped into the river to rescue his son as the vehicle quickly submerged. He got the child out of the vehicle, and both made it safely to shore. Cavazos and his son were treated on scene by EMS personnel and ultimately refused transport to a hospital. Emergency crews remained on scene for approximately five hours before the vehicle was located, using sonar, and removed from the river with the assistance of trained divers.
The Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office was assisted on scene by the IDNR Conservation Police; Sterling Fire Department; CGH EMS; Yorktown Fire Department Search and Rescue Divers; Slim-n-Hanks Towing.