Lisle man charged in fatal 2-boat collision on Fox River near McHenry County
A man has been charged in the deadly boat crash on Fox River near McHenry County on Saturday afternoon.
Officials say 45-year-old Richard Stevenson of Lisle was taken into custody around 4:30 a.m. on Sunday and was charged with reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence.
Video shared by neighbors caught how fast the pontoon Stevenson was allegedly operating was traveling before it hit another boat, killing a person on board. Neighbors say the boat was going about 70 miles per hour.
They said when they heard about the deadly accident, they weren't surprised to see the involved pontoon was at the center of the investigation.
Trevor Morris says he was outside swinging his daughter when he heard the boat speed past where they were along the Fox River. Another neighbor shared video showing the same pontoon also zooming by. That video was shot a minute before they say it collided with another boat downriver around 3 p.m. on Saturday.
The McHenry Township Fire Protection District said crews responded to the crash and that four people were involved.
Two people were on the boat that was hit. The boat was left with extensive damage. One person died while the other was taken in critical condition. CBS News Chicago learned that the person killed was a woman. Her identity was not released as of Sunday night.
The other two were on the pontoon. Officials say one person from it was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and the other [Stevenson] ran away.
Questions on social media asked why the pontoon had three engines in the first place.
"It's becoming more common, but in my opinion it seems a little bit overkill," said Ben Brandano with Boat Safe Chicago.
Brandano says you can buy a boat with three motors, but it can be overpowering—especially when traveling at high speeds.
"You can see that boat even skip in the flat surface of the water too," he said.
Neighbors we spoke with say the area where the crash happened is prone to accidents.
"This is a dangerous part of the river," said neighbor Bob Sexton. "It's very narrow as far as the river goes, and then the speeding around the corners here, it's kind of a blind corner as you're coming around."
Brandano says overall, the crash was preventable and the driver should have been more cautious, especially on a crowded summer Saturday afternoon.
"You have less maneuverability at high speed, so if any of those boats in front of him were to change course or he wasn't paying attention, didn't see, there's a chance of something like this happening," he said.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is investigating the crash.
Stevenson is scheduled to appear in McHenry County Court on Monday afternoon.
