An Illinois boater accused of speeding through a no-wake zone while intoxicated caused a horrific crash that killed a 48-year-old woman and injured her husband, prosecutors said.
Richard Stevenson, 45, allegedly slammed his 31-foot pontoon boat into the rear of a smaller vessel on the Fox River in McHenry on Saturday afternoon.
Prosecutors said Stevenson had been drinking heavily throughout the day and may have been traveling as fast as 80 mph when his boat struck the 20-foot Crownline at around 2:30 p.m.
The woman was decapitated in the violent collision and pronounced dead at the scene, prosecutors revealed during Stevenson’s detention hearing Monday. Her name has not been publicly released.
Her husband was also injured in the crash. Authorities have not disclosed the full extent of his injuries.
“This man was a ticking time bomb, and that bomb went off this past Saturday on the Fox River,” Deputy Chief Brian Miller told the court.
When police arrived, Stevenson was reportedly standing near the pontoon boat along a tree line.
He was taken to Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital, where testing showed his blood alcohol concentration was approximately 0.200, according to prosecutors. That is about two and a half times the legal limit for operating a vehicle.
Two other passengers who had been aboard Stevenson’s pontoon were gone by the time officers reached the scene.
Multiple witnesses told investigators Stevenson had been drinking throughout the day. Surveillance footage reportedly showed him operating the boat at extremely high speeds on both the Fox River and the nearby Chain O’Lakes before the deadly crash.
Prosecutors said the collision happened inside a designated no-wake zone, where boaters are required to travel slowly enough to avoid creating a wake.
Stevenson was arrested and charged with reckless homicide and two counts of aggravated driving under the influence.
Authorities said he has a lengthy history of traffic-related offenses, including three previous DUI charges, three reckless-driving cases and four misdemeanor speeding violations.
A judge ordered Stevenson to remain in custody while the case moves forward.
He is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 5.
richard, richard, richard,
you pathetic loser!!!!!!