80-year-old man drowns after jumping off Joliet bridge

An 80-year-old man died Friday morning after he jumped off a bridge into the Des Plaines River in southwest suburban Joliet.

At 6:59 a.m. Friday, someone called 911 to report that a man had jumped off the Cass Street Bridge, according to Joliet police and the Will County coroner’s office.

When officers responded, they saw 80-year-old Humberto M. Zayas attempting to drown himself by placing his head under the water and drinking it, police said.

A lieutenant at Bicentennial Park commandeered a boat that was in the water and used a safety hook to remove Zayas from the water, police said.

An officer performed CPR until Zayas was brought to shore and taken to Saint Joseph Medical Center, where he died at 7:41 a.m., authorities said.

Zayas was homeless and had registered as a sex offender with the Joliet Police Department the previous day, police said. He was convicted in Will County of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of an 11-year-old when he was 42, according to Illinois Child Sex Offender records.

An autopsy Saturday ruled his preliminary cause of death as drowning, but the final cause and manner of death will be determined at a later date, pending toxicological and police studies, authorities said.

Authorities have not been able to locate Zayas’ next of kin. Anyone with information regarding family or friends is asked to contact the coroner’s office at (815) 727-8455.