At least he can tell his friends he did it.
That's what John Morillo is happiest about, even though his drunken expedition led to an international rescue operation and he'll be criminally charged.
“I gotta pay fines and stuff. But I don’t want it to sound like I didn’t make it, because then my buddies are going to say ‘ha, ha, you didn’t make it.’ Because that was the whole thing, to show them I could do it," 47-year-old Morillo told the Windsor Star Tuesday after he was released from jail.
Morillo downed eight beers and jumped into the Detroit River Monday night, a stunt he'd promised friends he'd do for years, he said.
Windsor police were notified of Morillo's epic swim around 11:30 p.m. Monday after his neighbour, who was watching him in the water, lost sight of him after about half an hour, The Detroit News reports.
Police called the Canadian and U.S. Coast Guard, who deployed three boats and a helicopter.
Morillo told the Star he's quite a strong swimmer and he wasn't really drunk. It wasn't until he headed back into the water after a short break at Detroit's Renaissance Centre that he noticed the helicopters.
Windsor Police warned the public in press release that swimming in a shipping channel in dangerous due to the undertow, but also prohibited by the port authority.
Police have also passed on Morillo's case to Transport Canada.
He's been charged with being intoxicated in a public place, and will likely pay a hefty fine for swimming in a shipping channel. Despite ticking one more thing off his bucket list, Morillo says he feels pretty bad for inconveniencing and worrying everybody.
"I just want to say that was a really dumb idea, and I never should have done it," he told the Star in a video.
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