LORAIN — A man and woman are recovering after a spill into the Black River early Sunday morning.

Krystal Reno, 19, of Oberlin, fell into the river around 3 a.m. Sunday while walking along the Hot Water Pier north of City Hall, according to a police report.

Michael Burns, 21, of Vermilion, saw his friend fall in and rushed to help, reports indicate.

When he didn’t see a ladder, Burns took off his shoes and jumped in to help, police said.

Reno, Burns, Alexander Piwowar, 24, of Vermilion, and Katie Long, 20, of Wakeman, had been “hanging out together at a house drinking, then decided to drive to the pier for a place to go and just hang out,” police said.

Long and Reno were talking inside a vehicle when Reno got upset and got out to walk along the pier. She apparently misjudged her footing and fell in, reports stated.

When police arrived, Burns told them Reno “wasn’t doing good” and he was trying to keep them both above water.

Jumper cables and stop sticks, devices laid across roads to stop fleeing suspects, were lowered for Burns and Reno to hold onto until more help arrived.

One police officer located an animal control pole and, with Piwowar’s help, managed to loop the end over Reno’s arm to keep her head above the water.

“Her motor skills were beginning to diminish, and she was no longer responding to our voices,” police said.

The Lorain Fire Department arrived with a 30-foot extension ladder that they held while Burns hoisted himself to safety, Lorain Fire Capt. Jeff Fenn said.

Reno, however, was struggling and drifting in and out of consciousness, Fenn said.

“She couldn’t help at all,” Fenn said. “She was just locking up from the cold.”

The 35-degree water would have induced hypothermia within 13 to 15 minutes, Fenn said.

A firefighter climbed down a few rungs and managed to tie a rope around Reno, who was then pulled from the water.

Both were taken to Community Regional Medical Center where Burns was treated and released.

Reno was transferred to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, where she was listed in fair condition Sunday night, according to a nursing supervisor.

Contact Alicia Castelli at 329-7144 or acastelli@chroniclet.com.

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