MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Miami-Dade prosecutors filed a vessel homicide charge against prominent real estate broker George Pino Thursday in connection with a 2022 boat crash near Boca Chita Key that killed a 17-year-old girl and left two other people seriously injured over two years ago.
Authorities said Pino, then 52, was behind the wheel of a 29-foot Robalo boat in the early evening hours of Sept. 4 when he lost control and slammed it into a channel marker near Boca Chita Key, killing Lucy Fernandez and seriously injuring 17-year-old Katerina Puig and another victim whose name has not been disclosed.
Despite finding “61 empty alcoholic bottles and cans, one empty champagne bottle, and a half-consumed bottle of liquor” on board, officials noted they did not believe alcohol contributed to the crash.
Noon report:
Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said several other of the boat’s 14 passengers, many of whom were teenage girls, were also hurt after being forcefully thrown into the water.
Joel Denaro, the attorney representing the family of Lucy Fernandez, stated that the case against Pino is one of recklessness, not carelessness. He emphasized that public interest has encouraged more witnesses to come forward.
“This decision today brings no happiness to the Fernandez family. Lucy is gone at the hands of George Pino. I think it brings relief,” Denaro said.
Pino took out the boat to celebrate his daughter’s birthday and was returning back to the dock at the time of the crash, according to investigators.
Pino was previously charged with three misdemeanors after the boat he was operating collided with a channel marker.
The report also indicated that Pino declined a voluntary blood draw, though investigators did not suspect he was intoxicated.
“As time passed and more witnesses came forward, I think that helped the state gather the evidence needed to pursue a reckless homicide charge rather than careless,” Denaro said.
In a statement released to Local 10 News on Thursday, Pino’s attorney expressed disappointment at the state’s decision to file the new charge more than two years after the incident.
“Officers on the scene of the crash determined that Pino was not intoxicated; Pino did not exceed any posted speed limit. This was an accident, not a crime, much less a felony,” the statement read.
In May, a judge ordered Pino’s wife to pay $16 million to Puig’s family as part of a lawsuit settlement.
If found guilty, Pino could face up to 15 years in prison. A first hearing has yet to be scheduled.
The case remains under investigation as prosecutors pursue the upgraded charge.