The boozed-up Illinois boater who decapitated a former Marine on Saturday cried that his “life was over” after the deadly collision, based on prosecutors.
Richard Stevenson, 45, was allegedly powering his 31-foot pontoon at speeds near 80 mph when he hit a smaller boat in a no-wake zone on the Fox River, based on prosecutors and witnesses.
Stevenson’s vessel was then launched into the air, decapitating 49-year-old Magdalena Jablonska, earlier than it landed in bushes alongside the river’s shoreline, prosecutors stated in court docket Tuesday, in accordance to Fox 32.
Jablonska was a former Marine, based on a GoFundMe arrange by her brother.
“Magdalena was at all times the sunshine wherever she went,” Marcin Jablonski wrote. “As a U.S. Marine, it was pure that Magdalena was at all times serving to somebody in want.”
He additionally recognized a person injured within the crash as her fiancé.
Stevenson was seen weeping alongside the shore after the wreck, one witness who’d been on the boat with him advised prosecutors.
The alleged drunken boater cried out that his “life was over,” based on the passenger.
One other witness who’d been with Stevenson advised prosecutors that he had been ingesting earlier than he’d gotten behind the wheel of the boat.
Stevenson allegedly downed two pictures of Fireball whiskey, earlier than ingesting at a bar and restaurant. He then’s accused of taking pictures whereas driving the pontoon, based on the witness’ assertion.
After the crash, Stevenson allegedly refused discipline sobriety testing, a breath take a look at and initially refused a court-ordered blood draw.
He finally relented after being taken to Northwestern Medication McHenry Hospital, the place his blood alcohol focus was about .20, properly over the authorized restrict, based on prosecutors.
Assistant State’s Legal professional Brian Miller stated that Stevenson was a “ticking time bomb” at his listening to on Monday, requesting that he be held in detention till his trial started.
“This man was a ticking time-bomb and that bomb went off this previous Saturday on the Fox River,” Miller stated in court docket.
The damning assertion got here as prosecutors efficiently argued for Stevenson’s detention forward of trial, pointing to his historical past of reckless car utilization.
Stevenson accrued a whopping eleven driving offenses between 1997 and 2005 alone, prosecutors stated.
The mad motorist racked up three drunk driving offenses, three reckless driving offenses, 4 rushing offenses and a fleeing and eluding police cost over the eight yr interval, based on the prosecutor’s workplace.
Stevenson was stated to have additionally acquired a misdemeanor for driving between 26 and 34 mph over the pace restrict in 2023.
Along with the decades-long rap sheet, Stevenson was additionally hit with reckless murder and aggravated driving below the affect felony prices for Saturday’s brutal boating crash, data present.
He’s anticipated to look in McHenry County court docket once more on August 5.
Stevenson’s lawyer didn’t immediaetly reply to a request for remark.
