Intoxicated Grandfather Faces Homicide Charges After Barnegat Bay Boat Crash Wipes Out Daughter’s Only Two Children
A tragic evening that began with a family dinner at a New Jersey waterfront restaurant descended into an unimaginable nightmare when a heavily intoxicated grandfather allegedly crashed his speedboat, killing his daughter’s only two children. Prosecutors revealed that 64-year-old Stephen Schneider was operating his 30-foot vessel under the influence on Barnegat Bay near Berkeley Township when he slammed directly into a fully illuminated channel marker without braking. The violent impact ejected nine-year-old Mya Bella Golabek and her seven-year-old brother, Sigmund “Siggy” Paul Golabek, into the water, ending their lives and shattering their mother Jennifer’s entire world in a single moment.
The fatal excursion followed a family dinner gathering at MJ’s Restaurant Bar & Grill, where Schneider had been consuming alcohol before taking the children out on the water in the dark. While Schneider initially claimed to investigators that he had only consumed “three beers” during the outing, police records tell a drastically different story. Due to his demeanor and the circumstances of the crash, law enforcement officers were forced to obtain an emergency judge’s search warrant at 12:46 a.m. to forcibly draw his blood. Subsequent laboratory results exposed a catastrophic blood alcohol concentration of 0.16%, exactly double the legal driving and boating limit in the state.
Unsealed bar receipts and investigator findings further dismantled Schneider’s initial defense regarding his alcohol consumption prior to navigating the waterway. Prosecutors and local authorities have since moved forward with serious criminal charges against the grandfather as the community continues to reel from the devastating loss of the two young siblings. Funeral services and memorial tributes have drawn mᴀssive crowds of mourners to honor Mya and Siggy, whose bright spirits, athletic pᴀssions, and inseparable bond left an indelible mark on everyone who knew them. As judicial proceedings loom, the case stands as a harrowing reminder of the fatal consequences of operating watercraft under the influence.