Two people seated at the bow: The positions of Mya and Siggy on Stephen Schneider’s boat are becoming a key detail in the investigation! Mya and Sigmund were reportedly seated at the front of the boat while Stephen Schneider was operating it on Barnegat Bay. Just minutes later, the impact threw both of them into the water. The only witness has recounted the events that took place at the bow of the boat immediately before the collision.
Mya Bella Golabek, 9, and her brother Sigmund “Siggy” Paul Golabek, 7, were reportedly seated at the front of their grandfather’s boat while Stephen Schneider operated it on Barnegat Bay. Just minutes later, the impact threw both of them into the water. The primary account from those aboard has recounted the events that took place at the bow of the boat immediately before the collision.
On the evening of July 19, 2026, what began as a routine family dinner near the water in Berkeley Township, New Jersey, ended in irreversible tragedy. According to the affidavit of probable cause later filed in the case, the Golabek children had arrived at MJ’s Restaurant Bar and Grill on Bay Boulevard with their parents by boat. Their grandparents, Stephen Schneider, then 63 or 64, and Laurie Schneider, 64, both of the Bayville section of Berkeley, arrived separately in their own vessel—a Tidewater Custom 280, described in records as a 28- or 30-foot center-console boat.
After the meal, the children expressed a desire to return to their grandparents’ nearby waterfront home rather than travel back with their parents. They boarded the Schneiders’ boat. Both were wearing life jackets. Court documents state they sat in the front—at the bow—of the vessel. Schneider took the helm. Shortly after 9 p.m., traveling at approximately 20 mph through Barnegat Bay, the boat’s starboard bow struck Intracoastal Waterway Channel Marker No. 39, an illuminated single-stanchion navigational aid.
The force of the collision ejected both children into the dark water. Schneider later told investigators he saw the marker “at the last second.” He and his wife searched for the children in the darkness. He found Sigmund first, then Mya. Both were face-down and unresponsive. CPR was started immediately. First responders, including firefighters who entered the water, continued efforts. The children were taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River, where they were pronounced dead.
New Jersey State Police were dispatched around 9:19 p.m. on the report of a serious vessel crash. The channel marker’s lights were functioning properly, according to local officials including Berkeley Township Councilman James Byrnes, who noted that responders jumped in to assist and that one child’s life jacket was found nearby.
In the weeks that followed, the investigation focused on multiple elements: the operator’s condition, the vessel’s equipment, the lighting and visibility of the marker, speed, and the precise positions of the passengers. The fact that Mya and Siggy were seated at the bow has emerged as a significant detail. On a center-console boat, the forward seating places occupants closest to the point of impact in a head-on or starboard-bow collision. Investigators examining the dynamics of the ejection, the effectiveness of the life jackets under those conditions, and the rapid sequence of events have treated the children’s locations as central to reconstructing what occurred in the final moments.
Schneider told detectives that both the boat’s radar and an infrared/low-light night navigation camera were operating at the time. Despite this, he reported spotting the marker only at the last second. Toxicology results later proved pivotal. Schneider acknowledged consuming two Guinness beers and one Miller Lite over roughly two hours before the crash. A blood sample drawn in the early hours of July 20 showed a blood alcohol content of approximately 0.16 percent—twice New Jersey’s legal limit of 0.08 percent for operating a vessel. Laboratory analysis concluded that his alertness, sense of care and caution, perception, judgment, response time, and coordination were “markedly impaired by alcohol” and that he was unfit to operate the vessel.
On August 14, 2026, Schneider was charged with two counts of second-degree reckless vessel homicide (also described as death by vessel), operating a vessel under the influence, and reckless operation of a vessel. If convicted on the homicide counts, he faces up to 20 years in state prison. He was held at the Ocean County Jail before a detention hearing on August 19. Ocean County Assistant Prosecutor Kate Burke argued against release, emphasizing the BAC level and the catastrophic result. The children’s parents submitted letters supporting their grandfather’s release pending trial. A judge granted conditional release, with restrictions including a temporary ban on operating a boat or motor vehicle pending a court-ordered assessment. Schneider’s attorney noted that the crash was not intentional and that questions remained about the marker’s lighting status at the precise moment of impact, though official accounts indicated it was illuminated and functioning.
The positions at the bow continue to factor into the case narrative. Affidavit language and reporting consistently place the siblings forward in the vessel when the starboard bow struck the marker. That placement helps explain the ejection dynamics: the sudden deceleration and impact force at the front of the boat would have been most severe for those seated there. Life jackets were on, yet the children were recovered face-down. Investigators have examined whether the jackets remained properly secured during the throw, the water conditions at night, the time elapsed before recovery, and the effectiveness of immediate CPR. No independent external eyewitness has been publicly identified as having observed the exact moments at the bow immediately before impact; the detailed recounting available comes from Schneider’s statements to detectives and the subsequent official reconstruction based on physical evidence, the vessel’s condition, and the accounts of those aboard.
Community response was immediate and profound. Obituaries for Mya and Siggy emphasized their close sibling bond. “A sibling bond is a love that lasts forever. Mya and Siggy were not only brother and sister, but best friends who shared laughter, adventures, and countless memories,” the notices stated. “Now they continue their journey together, hand in hand, carrying their love beyond this world and leaving behind a beautiful reminder of the unbreakable bond they shared.” Mya was remembered as active in softball and basketball, and as someone who loved swimming, the beach, crabbing, crafting, and drawing. Siggy was described as a shy but adventurous boy with a big imagination. Visitation and funeral services were held in Forked River. Local residents expressed deep sorrow; one described the tight-knit community as feeling “very disheartened, very sad.” Support for the surviving parents, Sigmund and Jennifer Golabek of Lacey, and the extended family surged in the days after the crash.
The incident occurred amid a difficult summer on New Jersey’s waterways. Barnegat Bay saw multiple fatal boat crashes involving channel markers. One earlier case on Memorial Day weekend involved a different operator charged in the death of an adult son after striking a marker. Another later crash claimed an adult life and injured others. State police and marine officials have stressed that channel markers are charted, lighted, and intended as clear navigational aids. Questions about visibility, operator impairment, speed in restricted or marked channels, and passenger seating arrangements have repeatedly surfaced across these cases.
Boating safety experts and local officials have long noted the particular risks of nighttime operation on bays with fixed navigational structures. Center-console boats offer open layouts that can place passengers close to the bow. When combined with alcohol impairment—even levels resulting from a few beers over a short period—the margin for error shrinks dramatically. Schneider’s reported speed of about 20 mph is not extreme for many recreational vessels, yet in the presence of a fixed, illuminated marker and reduced reaction time, it proved catastrophic. The fact that radar and night-vision equipment were reportedly activated has not resolved questions about why the marker was not detected earlier.
As the criminal case proceeds, the positions of the two children at the bow remain a focal point for understanding the mechanics of the collision and ejection. Prosecutors will likely use the seating detail, the toxicology findings, Schneider’s own statements about alcohol consumption and last-second recognition of the marker, and physical evidence from the vessel and scene to support the reckless homicide charges. The defense is expected to examine lighting conditions, any possible equipment performance issues, the children’s life-jacket use, and the overall circumstances of a short trip home after a family dinner. Schneider is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
For the Golabek family, the legal process offers one form of accountability while the deeper loss remains. Two young siblings who shared an unbreakable bond spent their final minutes seated together at the front of their grandfather’s boat on a familiar bay. The impact that followed threw them into the water within minutes. The account of those moments at the bow—drawn from the operator’s statements and the official investigation—has become an essential piece of the record. Investigators continue to refine the timeline, the vessel’s path, and the precise sequence that turned a short evening ride into a fatal event.
The broader implications extend beyond one family and one boat. New Jersey’s coastal communities rely on Barnegat Bay for recreation, fishing, and transportation. Repeated collisions with channel markers have prompted renewed attention to enforcement of impaired-operation laws, public education on nighttime navigation, the importance of life jackets that remain effective during high-impact ejections, and the responsibilities of vessel operators when children are aboard. The positions of Mya and Siggy at the bow illustrate how passenger placement can amplify the consequences of a single navigational failure under impairment.
Schneider’s release pending trial includes conditions designed to address public safety concerns while the case moves forward. The children’s parents’ support for his release reflects the complex family dynamics surrounding the tragedy. Yet the charges stand, grounded in the toxicology results and the deaths that followed the collision. As court proceedings continue, the detailed reconstruction of the final minutes—particularly the children’s seating at the front of the Tidewater—will remain central to both the prosecution’s narrative and any defense arguments about causation and responsibility.
In the end, the story of that July night on Barnegat Bay is one of ordinary family plans overtaken by catastrophe. Dinner at a waterfront restaurant. Children requesting to ride with their grandparents. Life jackets on. Seats at the bow. A short trip at moderate speed. A marker seen too late. An impact that threw two young lives into the water. The investigation has treated those seating positions as more than incidental; they are a key detail that helps explain how the collision produced its fatal result. The only detailed recounting of the moments immediately before the impact comes from those who were present, and that account, combined with forensic and physical evidence, continues to shape the case against the boat’s operator.
The loss of Mya Bella Golabek and Sigmund Paul Golabek has left an enduring mark on their family, their community in Lacey and Berkeley, and the wider conversation about safety on New Jersey’s waters. As the legal process unfolds, the positions of the two children at the bow of Stephen Schneider’s boat stand as a critical and sobering element of the official record.
