A horrifying crash on the Fox River in Illinois has left one woman dead, another person critically injured, and a community demanding answers after authorities say a pontoon boat operator was drunk and speeding through a no wake zone.

Richard Stevenson, 45, of Lisle, Illinois, was arrested early Sunday morning after officials say he was involved in a deadly collision between two boats Saturday afternoon near McHenry County.

According to authorities, Stevenson was charged with reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence after the crash, which reportedly caused catastrophic injuries to a woman on the boat that was struck.

The details are gruesome, and there is no polite way to dress them up. A woman was killed in a violent impact that witnesses say followed a day of reckless behavior on the water.

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Neighbors along the Fox River told local media they had seen the pontoon speeding up and down the river before the fatal crash.

Some residents even captured video of the vessel moving at an alarming speed.

CBS News Chicago reported that neighbors said the pontoon was moving at about 70 miles per hour shortly before the collision.

That is not exactly the sort of casual weekend boating anyone expects in a no wake zone.

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Trevor Morris told local media he was outside swinging his daughter when he heard the boat roar past along the river.

Another neighbor reportedly recorded video of the same pontoon just about a minute before the crash downriver around 3 p.m. Saturday.

When residents learned there had been a deadly collision, they said they were not surprised to see that same pontoon at the center of the investigation.

That reaction says plenty about what people nearby had allegedly witnessed before tragedy struck.

Two people were on the boat that was hit.

One person died, and the other was taken to the hospital in critical condition after the vessel suffered extensive damage.

CBS News Chicago reported that the person killed was a woman, although her identity had not been released as of Sunday night.

Her family is now left with the kind of loss no one should ever have to endure because someone allegedly treated a public waterway like a personal racetrack.

Authorities said Stevenson was taken into custody around 4:30 a.m. Sunday.

According to WIFR News, he was found in trees near the shoreline where his pontoon had come to rest.

Two other people who had reportedly been on the pontoon left the scene before law enforcement arrived.

Investigators will no doubt want to know exactly what they saw, what they knew, and why they left.

Stevenson was taken to Northwestern Hospital in McHenry, where testing reportedly showed a blood alcohol concentration of .200.

The legal limit in Illinois is .08.

That number is not a small mistake or a borderline reading.

If authorities are correct, it is more than twice the legal limit, which makes the alleged speeding and reckless operation of a boat even more outrageous.

Witnesses told officers that Stevenson had been drinking throughout the day while operating the pontoon on both the Chain O Lakes and the Fox River at high rates of speed.

The pattern described by witnesses paints a deeply disturbing picture.

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Boating is supposed to be a weekend escape for families, not a guessing game over whether some intoxicated thrill seeker is about to come flying around the bend.

Normal people understand that waterways have rules because lives are at stake.

The no wake zone matters for a reason.

Families live along those banks, people fish there, people relax there, and other boaters have every right to expect basic sanity from those sharing the river.

Now prosecutors will have to sort through the evidence, including witness statements, video, toxicology results, and the aftermath of a crash that should never have happened.

Stevenson is entitled to the legal process, but the allegations are chilling.

There is also the heartbreaking reality that a woman went out on the water and never came home.

One person remains critically injured, and a family has been shattered in an instant.

If the allegations prove true, this was not some unavoidable accident caused by bad luck or rough conditions.

It was the predictable result of reckless choices, alcohol, speed, and total disregard for everyone else on the river.

For the victim’s loved ones, the criminal charges will not bring her back.

But if justice is done, the man accused in this case should never again be in a position to endanger innocent people from behind the wheel of a boat.

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