A drunk Illinois boater with a history of driving under the influence decapitated a woman after he crashed into her boat while traveling at approximately 80 miles per hour, prosecutors stated. Richard Stevenson, 45, is accused of colliding his 31-foot pontoon boat into the back of a smaller vessel in a no-wake zone on the Fox River in Illinois on Saturday. The 48-year-old woman on the smaller boat was killed, and her husband was injured.
Prosecutors revealed at Stevenson’s detention hearing on Monday that the woman was decapitated and was pronounced dead at the scene. A judge ordered Stevenson to be held in custody pending his trial.
“This man was a ticking time-bomb and that bomb went off this past Saturday on the Fox River,” Deputy Chief Brian Miller stated during the hearing. Police found Stevenson near the pontoon boat and transported him to Northwestern Hospital in McHenry. Tests indicated his blood alcohol concentration was approximately 0.200, more than twice the legal limit.
Witnesses reported that Stevenson had been consuming alcohol throughout the day. Surveillance video allegedly shows him operating the pontoon boat at high speeds on the Fox River and the adjoining Chain O’Lakes in the hours leading up to the crash, which occurred around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday in McHenry. Prosecutors claim Stevenson was traveling as fast as 80 miles per hour when he struck the 20-foot Crownline.
Stevenson was arrested and faces charges of reckless homicide and two counts of aggravated driving under the influence. Court documents indicate he has been previously charged with drunk driving on three occasions, reckless driving three times, and has four misdemeanor speeding offenses.
Stevenson is scheduled to appear in court again on August 5.