MCHENRY, Ill. — A Lisle man with a history of driving under the influence has been charged with reckless homicide and aggravated DUI after authorities say he crashed his pontoon boat into a smaller vessel at roughly 80 mph in a no-wake zone on the Fox River, killing a woman and seriously injuring her husband.

Richard M. Stevenson, 45, was operating a 31-foot Southbay pontoon around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 25, 2026, just south of the McHenry Dam when the crash occurred, according to the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors say Stevenson was traveling at full throttle through a no-wake area when his boat overtook and struck the rear of a 20-foot Crownline boat before riding over the top of it.

The impact decapitated 48-year-old Magdalena Jablonska of Des Plaines, who was a passenger on the Crownline. She was pronounced dead at the scene from catastrophic blunt-force injuries to the head and body. Her husband, who was also aboard the smaller boat, was critically injured and placed on life support. Two other people on Stevenson’s pontoon were also hurt.

Stevenson was located in the trees near the shoreline where his boat had come to rest. He allegedly admitted to a witness that he had been operating the vessel and had been drinking. Blood-alcohol testing showed a level of approximately 0.20 to 0.236 — well above Illinois’ legal limit of 0.08.

Stevenson has at least two prior DUI convictions. Prosecutors described him as a “ticking time-bomb,” citing his history of alcohol-related offenses. At a detention hearing on Monday, July 27, Judge Cynthia Lamb ordered him held without release, finding that his pretrial freedom posed a “real and present threat” to the safety of the community.

Security footage from a home along the river reportedly captured Stevenson’s pontoon traveling at high speed before the collision. Stevenson was previously employed as a vice president at Stevenson Crane Service; reports indicate he has since lost that position.

He faces charges including reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence causing death. The investigation remains ongoing.

Sources

• New York Post