Man accused in Fox River boat crash that killed woman appears in court in civil case

A man accused of drunkenly crashing his boat and killing a woman on the Fox River northwest of Chicago over the summer was back in court Thursday.

Richard Steenson, 45, was charged with one count of first-degree murder, one count of reckless homicide, three counts of aggravated DUI, and four counts of operating a watercraft under the influence in the boat crash that killed Magdalena Jablonska, 48, on July 25. He has pleaded not guilty.

He is also the defendant in a civil lawsuit alleging wrongful death.

On Thursday, attorneys from Jablonska's estate were trying to get access to Stevenson's financial records for the civil case, and were seeking to amend their wrongful death lawsuit to allege willful and wanton conduct and pursue punitive damages.

Authorities have said Stevenson had a blood alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit when he crashed his triple-engine pontoon boat into another boat on the Fox River, killing Jablonska. Prosecutors said Stevenson was going nearly 80 miles per hour in a no-wake zone at the time of the crash.

Lawyers representing Jablonska's family and her fiancé, Alan Telmini, said they filed the wrongful death lawsuit against Stevenson to further investigate the circumstances that led to the fatal crash. They will look into whether Stevenson was overserved alcohol at a business before he drove the boat, and if the three engines powering the pontoon played a part in the crash.

They also want to know if anyone knowingly allowed Stevenson to operate the boat despite a history of dangerous conduct, whether anyone who owned or controlled the boat negligently entrusted it to an unsafe driver, and whether any additional parties may share responsibility for Jablonska's death.