Stephen Schneider faces two reckless vessel homicide counts after prosecutors said his blood alcohol level measured 0.16 following the July crash.
BERKELEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A newly published 911 recording captures the frantic minutes after a boat struck a channel marker in Barnegat Bay, killing two young siblings and leading authorities to charge their grandfather with operating the vessel while under the influence.
The July 19 crash killed Mya Bella Golabek, 9, and her brother, Sigmund Paul Golabek, 7, both of Lacey Township. Their grandfather, 64-year-old Stephen Schneider of Bayville, faces two counts of reckless vessel homicide or death by vessel, along with charges of operating a vessel under the influence and reckless operation. The charges are allegations, and Schneider has not been convicted. He was later released from jail under conditions while the criminal case proceeds.
The 911 recording, obtained and published by the New York Post on Thursday, captures the children’s grandmother, Laurie Schneider, speaking with a dispatcher after the collision. She reported that the children were unconscious and that one had been brought back onto the boat while her husband was in the water trying to recover the other. The call documents the family’s attempts to get help as emergency crews responded to the bay.
New Jersey State Police previously said the crash happened shortly after 9 p.m. when a Tidewater Custom 280 struck an Intracoastal Waterway channel marker in the Berkeley Township area of Barnegat Bay. The impact threw Mya and Sigmund from the vessel. Authorities said the children were recovered from the water and taken to a hospital, where both were pronounced dead.
Court records reported by local news organizations indicate the children were wearing life jackets and were seated near the front of the boat before the collision. Schneider told investigators he had consumed three beers before the crash, according to an affidavit described in published reports. Prosecutors later told a judge that testing showed Schneider had a blood alcohol level of 0.16, twice the legal limit cited in the case.
Authorities have said Schneider was intoxicated when the boat struck the marker. Police also said the marker’s lights were functioning properly at the time of the crash. At a later detention hearing, however, Schneider’s attorney said the defense wanted to examine questions about whether the marker was lighted or unlighted when the collision occurred. That issue has not been resolved in court.
Schneider voluntarily surrendered Aug. 14 in an operation coordinated by New Jersey State Police investigators, the State Police Marine Bureau and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, according to police accounts. He was initially held in the Ocean County Jail after being charged. The charges came nearly a month after the fatal collision as investigators continued examining the circumstances surrounding the boat’s operation and the events leading to the impact.
At a detention hearing several days later, prosecutors asked that Schneider remain jailed, pointing to the seriousness of the charges and the alcohol level they said was recorded after the crash. His defense argued for his release and stressed that the collision was not intentional. The children’s parents submitted letters supporting Schneider’s release, according to reports from the hearing. A judge ultimately granted conditional release.
Under the release conditions reported by ABC7 New York, Schneider is temporarily prohibited from operating a boat or motor vehicle and must complete a court-ordered assessment. His attorney told the court that Schneider would not operate a boat again and would stop drinking alcohol. Those statements were made by the defense during the release proceeding and are separate from the factual allegations prosecutors must prove in the criminal case.
The deaths drew widespread attention along the Jersey Shore, where the two children were remembered by relatives as close siblings. Public obituary information described Mya as an active, fun-loving child and Sigmund, known as Siggy, as shy and adventurous. The family held services in July after the siblings’ deaths.
Schneider remains free under court-imposed conditions while the case is pending. ABC7 New York reported that his next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 15. The newly published emergency call adds detail to the immediate aftermath of the crash but does not resolve the criminal charges, which remain before the court.
Author note: Last updated August 27, 2026.