A close-up shot of police tape at a crime scene. (gorodenkoff / Getty Images)
By Michael Austin August 8, 2026 at 3:00am
A man was arrested after allegedly decapitating a woman in a boating accident by catapulting over another boat at 80 miles per hour.
Richard Stevenson, 45, has been charged with aggravated DUI and reckless homicide, according to a report from ABC News.
The incident took place on Fox River near McHenry, Illinois.
Stevenson, who is being held without release, has a record of driving under the influence.
He had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.2, which exceeds the legal limit of 0.08 in Illinois.
Judge Cynthia Lamb alleged in court documents that “the defendant, while intoxicated, drove his vessel at about 80 mph in a no-wake zone, even when warned by a passenger, the defendant continued to operate in that manner, the vessel went over the top of another vessel and crashed.”
She added that “when the defendant’s boat was on top of the victim’s boat, it decapitated one of the passengers of that boat.”
The woman who died in the accident was Magdalena Jablonska, 48.
Preliminary findings showed that she suffered blunt force injuries to her body and head.
A 45-year-old Illinois man with three prior DUI charges allegedly decapitated a woman after slamming his pontoon boat into hers at 80 mph in a no-wake zone on the Fox River Saturday.
Prosecutors say Richard Stevenson’s blood alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit… pic.twitter.com/MM2vYQoKPf
— Fox News US (@FoxUSNews) July 28, 2026
A witness told officers at the scene that the boat piloted by Stevenson was “at full throttle as it entered in a no-wake.”
“It collided with vessel 2, resulting in the decapitation of a female passenger on the second watercraft,” the witness said, per court documents.
Stevenson’s boat crashed into the timber on the river bank.
His criminal history includes four misdemeanor speeding charges and three reckless driving charges, per ABC News.
He has also been convicted twice for driving under the influence.
WMAQ-TV in Chicago reported that Stevenson was driving a 31-foot pontoon.
McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi L. Freese said in a statement that “our rivers and lakes should be places where families can safely enjoy time together, not places where the reckless and impaired can turn a summer day into a tragedy.”
“No family should have to endure the unimaginable loss suffered in this case,” Freese added.
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Michael wrote for several entertainment news outlets before joining The Western Journal in 2020. He now serves as Managing Editor, which involves managing the editorial team and operations, guiding the publication’s editorial direction, and writing, editing, curating and assigning stories as needed.
Birthplace
Ames, Iowa
Nationality
American
Education
Iowa State University
Topics of Expertise
Cultural Politics, Pop Culture, Christian-Conservatism
