the state rested its case.<\/a><\/p>\nOne of them, Claudia Portocarrero, was on board the boat involved in the Labor Day weekend crash that claimed the life of 17-year-old Lucy Fernandez. The witness described what she saw and heard in the immediate aftermath of the incident.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just remember opening my eyes after the impact and seeing, like, a lot of white, and the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was George, and I thought he was dead,\u201d said Portocarrero as she held back tears. \u201cI saw a lot of blood rushing, and then my friends were telling me that I had to get out of the boat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Portocarrero and Natalia Reed, who also took the stand, said they grew up with Fernandez.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was your friend, Lucy?\u201d said defense attorney Jeanelle Gomez.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d said Portocarrero.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew her for how long?\u201d asked Gomez.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy whole life, since I was 4 [years old],\u201d said Portocarrero.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry for your loss,\u201d said Gomez.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you,\u201d said Portocarrero, getting emotional.<\/p>\n
The teens were on board Pino\u2019s 29-foot Robalo, celebrating his daughter\u2019s birthday at Billy\u2019s Point Sandbar. Following the celebration, Pino struck a channel marker near Boca Chita Key.<\/p>\n
Fernandez\u2019s friends testified that the crash came without warning.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you describe how that boat ride felt?\u201d said Gomez.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt felt like nothing out of the ordinary,\u201d said Portocarrero.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell us about the speed of the boat,\u201d said Gomez.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember feeling it going any faster than our past trips,\u201d said Reed.<\/p>\n
Following Fernandez\u2019s friends, Cecilia Pino, the defendant\u2019s wife, took the stand for the second time.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I remember asking again, \u2018Who is missing? Who is missing?\u2019 And that\u2019s when they told me that Lucy was missing,\u201d said Cecilia as she got emotional.<\/p>\n
She recalled the chaos in the aftermath of the crash.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe girls swam to the boat\u2026and I was just trying to find Lucy,\u201d said Cecilia. \u201cIt was just a little head bobbing, by the boat.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you love Lucy?\u201d asked a defense attorney.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d said Cecilia.<\/p>\n
She told jurors she instructed the group of girls to jump into the water before the boat capsized.<\/p>\n
Later on Tuesday, two good Samaritans testified in court about bringing Fernandez from the crash site to the dock and how Pino reacted in the aftermath.<\/p>\n
One of them, Angel Rodriguez, told jurors that Pino was not impaired.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was cleaning, I got, on purpose, close to him,\u201d said Angel.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you notice an odor of alcoholic beverage coming from this person?\u201d asked a defense attorney.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I didn\u2019t. No,\u201d said Angel.<\/p>\n
The second good Samaritan, Hamlet Rodriguez, said he arrived in his own boat after Pino\u2019s vessel capsized and noticed Pino taking action to save Fernandez\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he went under the boat, he came out. He brought someone, and I jumped into the ocean right away, trying to help him. As soon as I approached him, he passed me the person. I have no idea who I was saving,\u201d said Hamlet.<\/p>\n
Defense attorneys also called on navigational expert Paul Alber to expand on the circumstances surrounding the crash, one day after he testified for the prosecution and presented a reenactment video.<\/p>\n
The defense argues the crash occurred at 6:38 p.m., but the reenactment took place at 9 a.m., which affected what was visible.<\/p>\n
Alber had recreated what he believes happened leading up to the crash near Boca Chita Key that killed Fernandez.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors argue the defendant had a clear view of the channel marker before the crash, but his defense team argued that high tide played a role in what they called a tragic accident.<\/p>\n
They also alleged that he was speeding, and under the influence.<\/p>\n
GPS data shows that about nine seconds before the impact, Pino hit a speed of 47 miles an hour on his vessel and hit the marker on the left side of the channel.<\/p>\n
In court on Monday, an attorney for Pino asked Alber about the high tide.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat marker to the operator\u2019s view is going to look lower when it\u2019s high tide?\u201d asked a defense lawyer.<\/p>\n
\u201cA little bit, yes,\u201d said Alber.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn Sept. 4, 2022, at 6:37 p.m., it was high tide, wasn\u2019t it?\u201d asked the defense lawyer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was close to high tide, I believe, yes,\u201d said Alber.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe entire event, until we were here in this courtroom today, you assumed that the accident happened at low tide?\u201d said the defense attorney.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t make any assumptions because I didn\u2019t consider that the minor difference in a foot or two of water level to play a factor in the collision,\u201d said Alber.<\/p>\n
In court on Tuesday, the defense continues to ask Alber about his recreation of the crash.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, on the day of the recreation, the high tide didn\u2019t get quite as high as it did on the day of the [crash], correct?\u201d said a defense attorney.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes \u2026 14 inches instead of 18 inches,\u201d said Alber.<\/p>\n
Before the defense began presenting its slate of witnesses, Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez denied Pino\u2019s motion for judgment of acquittal.<\/p>\n
The court will resume on Wednesday at 10 a.m.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/p>\n
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