MAGA Boater Waving Trump Flag Kills Marine Veteran at 80MPH in Drunken Fox River Horror Crash

Richard Stevenson, 45, a crane company executive from Bolingbrook, has been charged with reckless homicide and aggravated DUI after a high-speed Fox River boat crash killed a Marine veteran in front of her fiancé.

Prosecutors say Stevenson's blood alcohol content measured 0.236 following the McHenry Dam boat crash on 25 July 2026, nearly three times Illinois' legal limit of 0.08. Stevenson remains in custody after a McHenry County judge described him as a 'ticking time bomb that tragically went off'.

Unverified Political Allegations Emerge

Witnesses and a neighbour who commented on local television's Facebook coverage of the crash have separately alleged Stevenson had been seen waving a Trump flag from his boat in the lead-up to the collision. The claim has not been confirmed in any police report or court filing reviewed for this story. It remains, for now, an allegation made by a commenter on local news coverage rather than a documented fact.

Veteran Killed Instantly

Magdalena Jablonska, 48, of Des Plaines, was riding as a passenger on a Crownline boat near the McHenry Dam when Stevenson's 31-foot Southbay pontoon allegedly struck it from behind at full throttle.

A witness told officers Stevenson's vessel was operating at full throttle as it entered a no-wake zone, and it collided with the second boat, resulting in the decapitation of a female passenger, according to the criminal complaint filed against him.

Her brother, Marcin Jablonski, wrote in a GoFundMe post that Magdalena was a US Marine veteran who was 'always the sunshine wherever she went' and that her military service made her instinctively drawn to helping others.

The crash also injured his sister's fiancé, who authorities separately identified as the man driving the Crownline. He was placed on life support following the collision.

Prosecutors BAC 0.236, Ticking Time Bomb

Prosecutors told the court Stevenson had taken multiple shots of Fireball whiskey earlier that day, according to two passengers who were later interviewed by police. One of those passengers told investigators Stevenson was travelling 80mph before the collision.

A toxicology report showed Stevenson's blood alcohol content was 0.236, nearly three times Illinois' legal limit of 0.08. Stevenson remained at the scene and was taken to hospital before his arrest.

Court records paint a picture of a long pattern of dangerous behaviour behind the wheel. Prosecutors said Stevenson's criminal history, spanning an eight-year period, includes guilty findings for speeding, reckless driving, DUI and evading police, dating back to 1997.

He was also cited for careless operation of a boat in Florida's Miami-Dade County in 2022, a violation he resolved by paying a fine. A McHenry County judge described him as a 'ticking time bomb that tragically went off' and ordered him detained without release pending trial.

Executive Fired, Social Media Posts Removed

Stevenson worked as vice president at his mother's company, Stevenson Crane Service, a Bolingbrook-based crane and rigging firm. The company issued a statement calling the incident 'a tragic incident' and offering 'our sincerest condolences to the victims' families and loved ones', before confirming his employment in its equipment sales department had been terminated.

Following the crash, Stevenson's LinkedIn profile was removed, and Stevenson Crane has deleted several posts from its Facebook page, Fox 32 Chicago reported.

Screenshots circulating online before the deletions purportedly showed the company's social accounts carrying pro-Trump commentary, including a St Patrick's Day post referencing 'Trump and the Green river' and a separate post thanking 'God and Trump' for diesel-powered equipment.

Neither Stevenson nor Stevenson Crane Service has responded to questions about the content or removal of those posts.

Community in Mourning

State Senator Craig Wilcox offered condolences on Facebook shortly after the crash, writing that his thoughts were with 'everyone involved in the boating accident just down river from the dam', without commenting on the political controversy that has since surrounded the case.

A community left reeling by Jablonska's death now waits to see whether Stevenson's history of impunity behind the wheel finally catches up with him in court.