Florida manslaughter trial centers on deadly Biscayne Bay boat crash
Prosecutors say George Pino sped his 29-foot Robalo from 43 to 47 mph before hitting a green marker, killing 17-year-old Lucy Fernandez.
The case against George Pino has narrowed to a brutal few seconds on Biscayne Bay, when prosecutors say a birthday cruise became a fatal run toward a channel marker. Jurors in Miami-Dade Circuit Court heard the collision reconstructed through GPS data, alcohol evidence and witness accounts as the state tried to turn a Labor Day weekend boating death into manslaughter and vessel homicide.
Pino, 55, has pleaded not guilty in the 2022 crash that killed 17-year-old Lucy Fernandez and left Katerina “Katy” Puig with permanent physical and neurological disabilities. Prosecutors said Pino took his wife, daughter and 11 teenage friends out on a 29-foot Robalo to celebrate his daughter’s birthday, drank alcohol and provided alcohol to underage passengers before heading back toward shore. The boat carried 14 people when it moved through the Cutter Bank channel near Boca Chita Key on Sept. 4, 2022.
The state’s sharpest allegation focused on speed. Prosecutors said GPS data showed the boat accelerating from 43 miles per hour to 47 miles per hour before striking a channel marker painted day-glo green for visibility. The impact allegedly threw passengers into the water and capsized the vessel. Courtroom testimony described chaos and screaming after the collision, with the boat overturned and people struggling in the bay.
Defense witnesses offered a different frame. They described a normal outing until the crash, and a boating instructor testified about tides, visibility and the lack of a posted numerical speed limit in that channel. That version matters because manslaughter cases at sea often turn on whether a captain ignored a clear danger or simply made a tragic judgment in difficult water. Here, prosecutors have leaned on the boat’s speed, the alcohol, and Pino’s alleged failure to respond quickly when Fernandez entered the water.
The drinking evidence has become just as central as the navigation. NBC 6 South Florida reported that an incident report listed 61 empty alcoholic bottles and cans on the boat, and that authorities did not give Pino a sobriety test at the scene. Pino reportedly said he had two beers. Jurors also watched body-camera video from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials who first responded to the crash.
The trial has already turned emotional. Pino broke down during opening statements, the court adjourned early that day, and Lucy Fernandez’s father, Andy Fernandez, testified along with two girls who had been on the boat. The case also carries a wider shadow: in 2025, Florida enacted Lucy’s Law after lobbying by Fernandez’s family, and the defense has pressed for a venue change and dismissal. Jurors may even be allowed to step aboard the boat linked to the crash, bringing them back to the same narrow question that has defined the trial from the start: what happened in those final seconds before impact?
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