A drunk Illinois boater allegedly plowed his 31-foot pontoon into a smaller vessel at 80 miles per hour over the weekend, decapitating a 48-year-old woman and leaving her husband injured, according to prosecutors.
Richard Stevenson, 45, was charged with reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence after the horrific Saturday afternoon crash on the Fox River in McHenry. The victim, whose name has not been released, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities say Stevenson had been drinking heavily all day, and surveillance footage captured him speeding through a no-wake zone moments before the collision. His blood alcohol concentration reportedly tested at 0.200—more than twice the legal limit.
“This man was a ticking time-bomb and that bomb went off this past Saturday on the Fox River,” Deputy Chief Brian Miller argued in court Monday, where a judge ordered Stevenson held without bond.
Court records show Stevenson has three prior DUI arrests, three reckless driving incidents, and four speeding violations. Police found him standing near the treeline after the crash, with two other passengers from his pontoon already gone.
The woman’s husband survived the impact but was injured. Stevenson is due back in court August 5, as the community reels from a tragedy that officials say was entirely preventable.
What does it take for authorities to stop a repeat offender before lives are lost?
