FROM FAMILY DINNER TO FATAL CRASH: GRANDFATHER FACES SERIOUS CHARGES AFTER TWO GRANDCHILDREN DIE

BARNEGAT BAY, NEW JERSEY — A family dinner ended in tragedy after 64-year-old Stephen Schneider allegedly took his 30-foot boat onto Barnegat Bay at night, leading to a crash that killed his two young grandchildren.

According to allegations in the case, Schneider and his family had been dining at MJ’s Restaurant Bar & Grill before he decided to take the boat onto the water.

What happened next would leave the family devastated.

BOAT CRASH SENDS TWO CHILDREN INTO THE WATER

Authorities allege Schneider was heavily impaired when he was operating the vessel in the darkness.

The boat reportedly struck a channel marker, sending 9-year-old Mya and 7-year-old Sigmund into the bay.

The children were pulled from the water unresponsive.

Despite emergency efforts, both were pronounced dead at a hospital.

For their mother, Jennifer Golabek, the loss was devastating. The children were reportedly her only two children.

FAMILY MEMBERS TRIED TO SAVE THEM

After the collision, Schneider and his wife reportedly pulled the children back aboard the boat and attempted to get them help.

But the children could not be revived.

Investigators are now reconstructing the moments before and after the crash, including what happened during the family’s dinner, when the boat left shore and the conditions on the bay that night.

SCHNEIDER ARRESTED

Schneider was taken into custody and lodged at Ocean County Jail.

Prosecutors are pursuing serious vessel-related homicide charges, with alleged alcohol impairment expected to be a major issue in the case.

The allegations have not been proven in court, and Schneider is presumed innocent unless convicted.

QUESTIONS SURROUND THE FINAL HOURS

Investigators will now have to determine exactly how much Schneider had consumed, whether he was legally impaired, how the boat was being operated and why the vessel struck the marker.

The case is also likely to focus attention on the dangers of operating a boat after drinking, particularly at night when visibility can be severely limited.

A night that began with a family dinner ended with two children dead and their grandfather behind bars.

Now prosecutors are working to determine whether the tragedy was a devastating accident — or a preventable crime caused by impaired operation of a vessel.