Like so many Chicagoans, Sergeant Christoria King headed to the cooling waters of Lake Michigan during the July Fourth holiday weekend. She was enjoying a few days off from the Chicago Police Department, but as soon as she observed flickering lights cutting through the evening’s heavy fog and a verbal call for help coming across the water, her policing instincts kicked in.

As the boat she and friends were occupying moved toward the vessel in distress, they discovered it was partially submerged and its occupants hanging on.

“We saw the boat halfway under the water. And we can hear them screaming for life and death. They’re saying, ‘Please don’t let us die. Please help us,’” King relayed to ABC7.

She grabbed the nearest life ring and tossed it toward the stranded passengers.

“It took me a couple times. About the third time, I was able to get it [far] enough for them to grab on. They had to jump off and swim to it,” she recalled.

“It was a very traumatic experience. I just thank God we were able to be at the right place at the right time,” King added.

Days after the incident, the news station reported the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed a pleasure craft sank as a result of fog and rain disabling its pumps, preventing them from displacing the water entering the boat. No injuries were sustained.

For her quick thinking and rescue response, King was presented with a certificate of valor from Chicago Harbors.