Defense attorneys Mark Shapiro and Howard Srebnick flank George Pino at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building in Miami on Wednesday, May 27, 2026.
Pedro Portal
pportal@miamiherald.com
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The investigation into 2022 boat crash that killed a high school student
On Sept. 4, 2022, a boat operated by real estate broker George Pino crashed in Biscayne Bay, killing 17-year-old Lucy Fernandez.
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Doral real estate broker George Pino walked into a Miami courtroom Monday afternoon to face trial in connection to a 2022 boat crash that killed a teen girl.
Pino, 54, is charged with manslaughter and vessel homicide in the Sept. 4, 2022, crash, which killed 17-year-old Luciana “Lucy” Fernandez and left Katerina “Katy” Puig, now 21, with physical and neurological disabilities.
Both sides of the large courtroom were packed, with Lucy’s loved ones sitting behind the prosecution table and Pino’s supporters behind the defense.
A jury of 6 people, in addition to four alternates, was seated Friday evening and is tasked with weighing the evidence in the case. Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez is presiding.
READ MORE: Jury seated in George Pino’s boat-crash trial. When do opening arguments start?
Pino’s case is one of the most anticipated trials in South Florida due to his prominence in the community, the teens on his boat being students at well-known Catholic private schools, and widespread criticism of investigators’ handling of the crash’s aftermath.
Pino was driving his 29-foot Robalo boat through the Cutter Bank channel in Biscayne Bay back to the gated Ocean Reef Club in north Key Largo when he slammed into a steel channel marker, sending everyone on board into the water.
Damage to the 29-foot Robalo piloted by George Pino, who crashed his boat into a concrete channel marker in Biscayne Bay on Sept. 4, 2022. The boat crash led to the death of Luciana ‘Lucy’ Fernandez, 17, a senior at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Pino and his wife were celebrating their daughter’s 18th birthday on Elliott Key on the day of the incident. Their daughter and 11 of her friends, including Katy and Lucy, were on the boat. They were headed to have dinner at Ocean Reef, where the Pinos were members at the time.
Lucy Fernandez died at a hospital the day after the crash. Katy Puig, a soccer standout with Division I college prospects, is still regaining basic motor skills. Several other girls were injured but have recovered.
Lucy Fernandez
After a year-long investigation, the FWC, the state agency that investigates boat crashes, recommended three misdemeanor charges. Had Pino pleaded guilty to those counts, he would have faced at most up to 60 days in a county jail.
But following a series of Miami Herald articles exposing flaws in the investigation, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office reexamined the case. In late 2024, prosecutors charged Pino with vessel homicide, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Empty beer and other alcoholic beverage bottles and cans are lined up behind the cockpit of George Pino’s 29-foot Robalo boat on Sept. 5, 2022. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Then, last August, prosecutors charged Pino with another second-degree felony: manslaughter, which also carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years. That charge came after prosecutors interviewed the girls who were on the boat, some of whom testified about the amount of alcohol flowing on the vessel.
This report will be updated
Miami Herald
Grethel covers courts and the criminal justice system for the Miami Herald. She graduated from the University of Florida (Go Gators!), speaks Spanish and Arabic and loves animals, traveling, basketball and good storytelling. Grethel also attends law school part time.