![\"Flanked](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/MIA_10PINOSURRENDERS.JPG\" "\\"Flanked")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Flanked by his daughter, Carolina Pino, left, and wife, Cecilia Pino, right, real estate broker George Pino acknowledges supporters as they arrive in Courtroom 4-1 for his surrender at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building on Thursday, November 21, 2024, in Miami, Florida. <\/p>\n
Carl Juste<\/p>\n
cjuste@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
READ MORE<\/p>\n
The investigation into 2022 boat crash that killed a high school student<\/p>\n
\n On Sept. 4, 2022, a boat operated by real estate broker George Pino crashed in Biscayne Bay, killing 17-year-old Lucy Fernandez.\n <\/p>\n
Expand All<\/p>\n
A neurologist examined George Pino, the Doral real estate developer who crashed his boat into a fixed channel marker, killing a teenage girl and seriously injuring her classmate, to determine if he suffered a traumatic brain injury that caused him to have amnesia and \u201cfalse memories regarding the details of the accident,\u201d according to a document obtained by the Miami Herald.<\/p>\n
Attorneys for Pino consulted with Dr. Diana Barrat, a Boca Raton neurologist who is expected to be an expert witness in the case, according to the records obtained by the Herald. The defense attorneys hired her.<\/p>\n
Barrat\u2019s 18-page report \u2014 which is heavily redacted \u2014 was turned over to prosecutors on Monday. It indicates defense attorneys may plan to present evidence at trial about Pino suffering a traumatic brain injury as a result of the 2022 Labor Day weekend crash.<\/p>\n
Among the questions defense attorneys asked Barrat: \u201c[C]ould the traumatic brain injury have caused amnesia and the creation of false memories regarding the details of the accident?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her answer was redacted in the report.<\/p>\n
Barrat assessed Pino on Feb. 2, according to the document. The doctor analyzed scans of Pino\u2019s brain and reviewed several of his medical records.<\/p>\n
Facing two felony charges<\/p>\n
Pino, 55, is facing manslaughter and vessel homicide charges. Those felonies carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, although he can\u2019t be convicted of both charges. He has pleaded not guilty on both charges.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Testimony of girls on boat leads to another charge for George Pino<\/a><\/p>\n Representatives for Pino\u2019s attorney Howard Srebnik declined to comment for this article.<\/p>\n Pino\u2019s charges are the result of the boat crash leading to the death of 17-year-old Luciana \u201cLucy\u201d Fernandez, who was starting her senior year at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy. The Sept. 4, 2022, crash also seriously brain injured her classmate, Katerina \u201cKaty\u201d Puig, now 20, a standout soccer player still regaining basic motor skills.<\/p>\n READ NEXT: \u2018I\u2019m a fighter.\u2019 Survivor of fatal boat crash honored at Nicklaus Children\u2019s ball<\/a><\/p>\n Claims of another boat in channel<\/p>\n Pino told investigators that a larger boat heading toward his boat in the channel threw a wake and caused him to lose control of his vessel, hitting the marker in Biscayne Bay. Pino\u2019s boat, a 29-foot Robalo, capsized, hurtling the boat\u2019s passengers \u2014 12 teenage girls and Pino and his wife Cecilia \u2014 into the bay.<\/p>\n But, nobody else, including witnesses on other boats in the crowded channel, and no one on his boat, saw that other vessel.<\/p>\n READ MORE: \u2018Radio silence\u2019: Deadly boat crash witnesses say they weren\u2019t interviewed by investigators<\/a><\/p>\n Pino is not charged with any offense stemming from false statements made to investigators or filed in a federal court.<\/p>\n The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the state agency that investigated the crash, also determined that boat was likely never there.<\/p>\n Upon hearing about the examination with the neurologist, Joel Denaro, an attorney for the Fernandez family replied: \u201cOh, so they\u2019re going for the amnesia defense?\u201d<\/p>\n The report provides a glimpse of what to expect at Pino\u2019s trial in June.<\/p>\n In December, Pino\u2019s attorneys said a hospital blood test showed that \u201cno alcohol was detected\u201d in Pino\u2019s system. Blood alcohol testing \u2014 or lack thereof\u2014 has been at the center of controversy in the case.<\/p>\n READ MORE: No alcohol detected in Pino\u2019s hospital blood test after boat crash, defense says<\/a><\/p>\n On the night of the crash, FWC investigators did not give Pino a blood alcohol test to determine his sobriety levels, even though they are trained to do so in boating accidents with serious injuries or fatalities. Investigators on the scene knew that four of the 14 people on the boat were airlifted as trauma alert patients by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, including Lucy, who died the next day in the hospital.<\/p>\n READ MORE: How investigators, prosecutors bungled probe into boat crash that killed teen girl<\/a><\/p>\n In addition, Pino told FWC investigators on the scene that he had \u201ctwo beers\u201d that day. The Pinos were celebrating their daughter\u2019s 18th birthday; she had invited 11 of her close girlfriends \u2014 all underage \u2014 to go on the boat outing to Elliott Key in Biscayne Bay.<\/p>\n The FWC has maintained it did not have probable cause to get a court warrant to force Pino to take a sobriety test. But the FWC could have contacted the Miami-Dade State Attorney\u2019s Office, which has a prosecutor on call 24\/7 to help officers get a search warrant, arrest warrants or court orders in these types of cases. In fact, the second page of a State Attorney Office\u2019s slideshow for the FWC on vessel homicides gives the hotline number for the prosecutors.<\/p>\n The FWC didn\u2019t call.<\/p>\n The day after the crash, FWC investigators pulled Pino\u2019s boat from the bay and found 61 empty alcohol bottles and cans, including Coronas, Truly Hard Seltzers and Bud Lights. Also found: an empty bottle of La Marca Prosecco and a half-drunk bottle of Chambord raspberry liqueur.<\/p>\n Despite this and despite no sobriety test done on Pino, the FWC concluded alcohol was not a factor in the crash. A Pino spokesperson has said the empty booze bottles and cans stemmed from the trash of other boats tied up with Pino\u2019s boat at Elliott Key. The spokesperson hasn\u2019t identified the other boaters.<\/p>\n The next hearing in the case is scheduled for April 13.<\/p>\n This report will be updated as new information becomes available<\/p>\n This story was originally published March 18, 2026 at 2:13 PM.<\/p>\n![\"Damage](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_Incident_Summary_Rep_9_1_NPPDV6RG_L859906851.JPG\" "\\"IMG_Incident_Summary_Rep_9_1_NPPDV6RG_L859906851.JPG\\"")
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 \u2018Lucy\u2019 Fernandez, 17, a senior at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission <\/p>\n![\"Lucy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_boatmug.jpg_3_1_1BO4JOLT_L794174112.JPG\" "\\"IMG_boatmug.jpg_3_1_1BO4JOLT_L794174112.JPG\\"")
Lucy Fernandez, a 17-year-old senior at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, was killed as a result of a Sept. 4, 2022, boat crash off the Keys. Miami <\/p>\n![\"Empty](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_IMG-1329.jpg_5_1_V5O5D4TK_L796142741.JPG\" "\\"IMG_IMG-1329.jpg_5_1_V5O5D4TK_L796142741.JPG\\"")
Empty alcohol beverage bottles and cans are lined up behind the cockpit of George Pino\u2019s 29-foot Robalo boat on Sept. 5, 2022, the day after he crashed his boat into a concrete channel marker in Biscayne Bay, killing Lucy Fernandez, a 17-year-old senior at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission <\/p>\n
![\"Profile](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_6789.jpg\")