Bayville man charged in fatal Barnegat Bay boating accident

Stephen Schneider, 63, of Bayville, has been charged with two counts of reckless vessel homicide following a July 19 boating accident in Barnegat Bay that killed his two grandchildren.

According to court documents and New Jersey State Police, Schneider was operating a 28-foot Tidewater Center Console while “impaired by alcohol” when the vessel struck Intracoastal Waterway Marker #39. The impact ejected 9-year-old Mya Bella Golabek and 7-year-old Sigmund “Siggy” Paul Golabek from the boat. Although adults on board managed to retrieve the children from the water and bring them to shore, both children later died at a hospital.

In addition to the homicide charges, Schneider faces charges for operating a vessel under the influence and reckless operation of a vessel. He voluntarily surrendered to authorities on Friday. This incident is one of four fatal boating accidents involving channel markers in Ocean County waters reported this summer.