Jury selection set for June in fatal Keys boating case

Luciana Fernandez was 17 when she died the day after a Labor Day weekend boat crash in Biscayne Bay, and the case tied to her death is finally moving toward a jury in June. For Monroe County readers, the next court dates matter because the route to Ocean Reef Club, the marker strike near Boca Chita Key and the questions raised about speed, wake and responsibility have made this one of the most closely watched boating cases connected to the Keys.

At a status hearing in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, prosecutors and defense lawyers told Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez they expect to be ready to pick a six-person jury by June 1, with opening statements tentatively set for June 8. The trial is now expected to last about a week, a tighter schedule than the preliminary July 14 date the court had previously set.

George Pino, a Doral real estate broker, was operating a 29-foot Robalo center console on Sept. 4, 2022, when it struck a fixed channel marker near Boca Chita Key. Prosecutors later added manslaughter and vessel homicide counts based on alleged culpable negligence after first filing misdemeanor careless boating charges. Pino surrendered to authorities on Nov. 21, 2024, on the felony homicide case and later bonded out.

The crash left more than one family changed. Katerina Puig was seriously injured and remains in a wheelchair while still working to regain basic motor skills. Another teenage passenger was also badly hurt but later recovered. The state has said no witness saw the larger boat Pino has claimed created a wake that caused him to lose control, including the 13 people aboard his vessel that day.

The defense has also explored whether Pino suffered head trauma in the crash and whether that could have affected his memory of what happened. That question, along with the collision itself, has already helped push the case beyond a single courtroom fight and into a broader debate over how fatal vessel crashes are handled in South Florida.

The case also reached the Capitol in Tallahassee. Lucy’s Law, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on June 27, 2025, was named for Luciana Fernandez and revised penalties for vessel collisions, reckless operation and leaving the scene of a vessel accident. Its passage underscored how the deaths and injuries from this crash extended well beyond Miami-Dade County, reaching boating families throughout the Keys, where crowded channels and high-speed traffic remain part of daily life.