Wife hails husband hero after he passed away during attempt to save passengers on sinking yacht

Tragedy unfolded on Lake Michigan on Friday, July 26, after a man died as he attempted to save passengers on a sinking yacht. In the wake of Lorenzo Tobin’s death, his wife, Lesley Jackson-Tobin, praised him for his heroics, saying that he would have still done the same thing even if he wasn’t on that boat.

Per ABC7 Chicago, Tobin’s body was ultimately retrieved by the crew on Sunday. Lorenzo, according to his wife, was hired to provide assistance to a group of people celebrating a birthday party on the lake. 

“He’s the kind of friend where if you would ask any of those friends, they will say, ‘That’s my best friend,'” Jackson-Tobin said about her deceased husband.

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There were 15 people on board the boat that left 31st Street Harbor shortly before the fatal incident. Jackson-Tobin said she has yet to understand the circumstances behind the fatal incident.

“Lorenzo didn’t know the people whose birthday it was. He was just there as, like, a deck hand,” said Jackson-Tobin. “I mean honestly, it makes me angry, because this should not happen. You know, my husband could swim very well.”

Jackson-Tobin also revealed witnesses said her husband was trying to save passengers, adding that he was handing out life jackets when the yacht capsized. “He’s a hero. He’s a hero. And I feel like even if he had not been on that boat, would have just been walking by, he would have done the same thing,” Jackson-Tobin said. 

Lorenzo’s cousin, Charles Tibbs, was among the people who were at the lake on the day his body was retrieved by crews. And that was done after Tibbs saw his cousin’s body, ABC7 Chicago reported.

“Somebody knows something. We just want somebody to give us some steps on what happened,” Tibbs said.

At the time of this report, Jackson-Tobin said she had yet to have a conversation with the captain of the yacht. She also said she did not know the boat’s owner. 

“The fact that he helped people, and he’s the only one that did not make it, I’m angry,” Jackson-Tobin said. An investigation into the fatal incident has since been launched.