Prosecutor: Lisle man driving 80 mph and intoxicated before deadly Fox River boat crash

A Lisle man had a blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit and was driving 80 mph when his boat collided with another watercraft Saturday on the Fox River, killing a woman on board, prosecutors said Monday.

Richard M. Stevenson, 45, is charged with aggravated DUI and reckless homicide in connection with the crash Saturday afternoon near the McHenry Dam.

McHenry County Judge Cynthia D. Lamb ruled Monday that Stevenson poses “a real and present threat” to the community and ordered him held in jail while awaiting trial.

Prior to the ruling, Assistant McHenry County State’s Attorney Brian Miller noted that Stevenson had a series of traffic violations between 1997 and 2005, including three DUIs, four speeding violations and three convictions for reckless driving not tied to a DUI.

“There’s nothing this court can order that will protect the community,” Miller said in arguing for Stevenson’s pretrial detention.

Defense attorney Patrick Walsh asked Lamb to allow Stevenson out of jail pending future court proceedings, arguing that prosecutors were citing offenses that occurred more than 20 years ago. He suggested restrictions such as home monitoring could be imposed to address safety concerns.

Prosecutors said Stevenson was operating a 31-foot South Bay pontoon boat Saturday afternoon in a no-wake zone when it “went up and over” the other boat, decapitating its female passenger, prosecutors said.

A man on the boat was critically injured, authorities said Sunday.

Prior to the crash, Stevenson was seen driving at high speeds throughout the day on the Chain ‘O Lakes and Fox River, Miller said, adding that at one point he bought a “bucket” of Fireball whiskey at a gas station and had several shots.

Another witness reported seeing Stevenson stumbling on the dock after leaving Port Edward restaurant in Algonquin, Miller said.

After the collision, Stevenson’s boat crashed into timber on the west bank of the river near the 1800 block of South Fernwood Lane in McHenry, authorities said.

Miller said Stevenson stayed at the scene but two females who had been with him fled. Stevenson was taken to Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital, where a toxicology report showed a blood alcohol content of 0.236, the prosecutor said. The legal limit for operating a boat in Illinois is .08.

“He is absolutely a danger,” Miller said.

“Everything came to a point this weekend when he took the life of an innocent person,” he added. “We cannot risk allowing him to do it again.”

Illinois Conservation Police are leading the investigation and seeking public help in determining what happened before the crash. Anyone who witnessed the crash, observed either vessel before or after the collision, or may have information is asked to complete an online incident report form.

Photographs, video or security camera footage taken in the area around the time of the crash also are welcome, conservation police said.

Stevenson is scheduled to return to court Aug. 5.