Overview
- The collision occurred on July 25 when a large, multi‑engine pontoon struck a smaller boat on the Fox River, killing 48‑year‑old Magdalena Jablonska and injuring her fiancé.
- A grand jury returned a first‑degree murder indictment on Thursday and also charged Richard Stevenson with multiple counts of aggravated DUI and operating a watercraft while intoxicated.
- Stevenson, 45 of Lisle, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment and remains detained in the McHenry County Jail after a judge denied pretrial release.
- Prosecutors allege the pontoon was traveling near 75–80 mph inside a no‑wake zone and that hospital testing showed Stevenson’s blood‑alcohol concentration was about .20 at the time of the crash.
- Jablonska’s family has filed a wrongful‑death lawsuit seeking damages and the case highlights broader safety and enforcement questions about high‑powered boats and repeat impaired‑driving offenders on inland waterways.