A Berkeley Township man has been charged in connection with a deadly boating crash in Barnegat Bay last month that claimed the lives of his two young grandchildren.

Stephen Schneider, 64, was arrested Friday and charged with two counts of reckless vessel homicide stemming from the July 19 crash, according to court documents.

Authorities say Schneider was operating a 30-foot Tidewater 280 shortly after 9:00 p.m. in waters off Berkeley Township when the boat crashed into a wooden channel marker.

The impact sent his two grandchildren, 9-year-old Mya Bella Golabek and 7-year-old Sigmund Paul Golabek, both of Lacey Township, into the water.

Schneider and his 64-year-old wife pulled the children from the bay. Both were transported to a local hospital, where they were later pronounced dead.

According to charging documents, investigators determined that Schneider was under the influence of alcohol and impaired while operating the vessel at the time of the crash.

Additional details surrounding the investigation and charges have not yet been released by New Jersey State Police or the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.

Schneider is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.