“I ONLY HAD THREE BEERS” — THEN PROSECUTORS REVEALED A BAC OF 0.16

Jennifer Golabek thought her two children were simply heading home with their grandparents after a family dinner.

Instead, 9-year-old Mya and 7-year-old Sigmund “Siggy” Golabek would never make it home.

On July 19, the family met for dinner at MJ’s Restaurant Bar & Grill in Bayville, New Jersey.

Afterward, Mya and Sigmund wanted to return to their grandparents’ home with them by boat.

What followed was a nighttime tragedy on Barnegat Bay.

THE MOMENT EVERYTHING CHANGED

According to court documents, 64-year-old Stephen Schneider was operating a 28-foot Tidewater boat when it struck an Intracoastal Waterway channel marker at around 9 p.m.

Schneider told investigators he was traveling at approximately 20 mph and saw the marker only at the last moment.

The impact threw both children from the boat.

Both were wearing life jackets.

Schneider and his wife pulled the children from the water and began CPR, but Mya and Sigmund later died at the hospital.

“THREE BEERS”

Schneider reportedly told police he had consumed three beers over roughly two hours during dinner.

But prosecutors revealed a far more serious detail at his detention hearing.

His blood alcohol concentration was approximately 0.16% — twice New Jersey’s legal limit of 0.08%.

Prosecutors argued that the result demonstrated the level of impairment under which Schneider allegedly chose to operate the vessel.

He now faces two counts of reckless vessel homicide, as well as charges related to operating a vessel under the influence and reckless operation.

THEN CAME THE UNEXPECTED TWIST

Despite the deaths of their two children, Mya and Sigmund’s parents asked the judge to release Schneider from custody.

His attorney read a letter from the children’s father describing Schneider as a loving grandfather and saying his family needed him during their grief.

The judge ultimately granted Schneider conditional release.

He is prohibited from operating a boat or motor vehicle while undergoing a court-ordered assessment, with his next court appearance scheduled for September 15.

ONE FAMILY DINNER. ONE BOAT RIDE. TWO CHILDREN LOST.

Mya was 9.

Sigmund was 7.

They went to dinner with their family.

Then they chose to ride back with their grandparents.

Minutes later, their boat collided with a channel marker and both children were thrown into the water.

Now their grandfather faces criminal charges while their parents are left mourning the two children they loved.

A family outing became a nightmare.

Three beers became a BAC prosecutors say was twice the legal limit.

And two children who were supposed to arrive safely at their grandparents’ home never made it there.

Stephen Schneider has been charged but not convicted. The allegations remain for the court to determine.