Overview
- A high-speed collision on July 25 killed 48-year-old Magdalena Jablonska and seriously injured her fiancé when a 31-foot pontoon allegedly rode over the couple’s smaller boat.
- Jablonska’s family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit on August 6 claiming the pontoon was traveling more than 75 miles per hour as it approached a posted no-wake zone and struck their boat.
- The pontoon’s driver, Richard M. Stevenson of Lisle, faces criminal counts including aggravated DUI and reckless homicide and remains detained pending further court action.
- Prosecutors and the lawsuit cite video, multiple witness statements of on-water drinking and high speed, and hospital toxicology showing blood-alcohol levels well above the legal limit.
- The family held a press conference and said the suit seeks accountability as investigators continue forensic testing of recovered remains and review of evidence while the fiancé recovers.