On Sept. 4, 2022, George Pino was at the helm of a boat carrying his daughter’s teenage friends for her birthday. The skies were clear, and the girls were cheerful.
But the celebration ended, prosecutor Laura Adams said, when Pino struck a channel marker, plunging everyone into the water and killing 17-year-old Luciana “Lucy” Fernandez. Pino had been 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.
Pino, 54, is on trial for manslaughter and vessel homicide charges in the crash, which killed Fernandez and left Katerina “Katy” Puig, now 21, with physical and neurological disabilities. Both sides of the large courtroom were packed, with Fernandez’s loved ones sitting behind the prosecution table and Pino’s supporters behind the defense.
Opening statements took place on Monday.
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