Related videos:
A jury from Miami-Dade County found real estate businessman George Pino not guilty of involuntary manslaughter and boating manslaughter charges related to the boating accident on September 4, 2022, which claimed the life of a 17-year-old girl.
According to , the panel, consisting of six people - five men and one woman - began deliberating on Monday night and reached a verdict in less than two hours. Upon hearing the verdict, Pino, 55, broke down in tears and hugged his family.
The accident occurred during the celebration of Pino's daughter's birthday, when he was driving his 29-foot Robalo boat in the Cutter Bank channel, in Biscayne Bay, near Boca Chita Key. The vessel collided with a channel marker and capsized, tossing several of the 14 occupants into the water.
Lucy Fernández, 17 years old, was trapped under the boat and died the following day in the hospital. Another teenager, Katerina "Katy" Puig, suffered permanent traumatic brain injuries that left her with physical and neurological disabilities, requiring a wheelchair and 24-hour medical care.
Deputy District Attorney Laura Adams stated during the closing arguments that Pino made "error after error after error" that day: he was driving at nearly 50 mph, was inattentive for nine seconds, was navigating on the wrong side of the channel, and both he and the minors had consumed alcohol prior to the crash.
The Prosecutor's Office also claimed that Pino lied to the police by stating that a wave from another vessel caused him to lose control, despite there being no evidence of that other boat.
Adams argued that Pino "took intentional actions, such as deciding at what speed to go and in what direction to navigate, and that caused Lucy's death."
The defense, led by attorney Howard Srebnick, admitted that his client "made a mistake by not checking the score, but that does not make him a criminal."
Srebnick pointed out that there was no speed limit in the channel, that Pino had only had two beers and was never charged with driving under the influence, and that his view of the marker may have been obstructed by the teenagers sitting at the bow.
The lawyer also indicated that Pino suffered a concussion during the accident that affected his memory of the events, although he was able to rescue Fernández, who had become trapped under the overturned helmet.
"There is no evidence, none, that at any point he thought he was endangering anyone's life," Srebnick stated.
Pino chose not to testify during the trial, which lasted for about two weeks and included over 20 witnesses, among them his wife, Lucy Fernández's father, and several friends who were on the boat.
The victim's father, Andrés Fernández, stated that he was at the sandbank where the group had traveled before the accident and that he later went to the site of the incident. "We were just screaming, 'Where is Lucy?'" he recounted before the jury.
After the verdict was announced, state prosecutor Katherine Fernandez Rundle expressed her disagreement with the ruling but accepted it. "I am aware that this verdict does not provide comfort to the Fernández and Puig families, who will have to live forever with the tragedy of what happened. In a case like this, there are no winners or losers," she declared to Univisión 23.
The Puig family had previously reached a multi-million dollar civil settlement, reported to be around 16 million dollars, against the Pino family. Katerina Puig, despite her permanent injuries, managed to graduate from high school in May 2024.
Filed under: