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Attorneys for a prominent South Florida real estate developer facing a homicide charge in a 2022 boat crash near Boca Chita Key that killed one teen and left another permanently disabled will get to inspect the vessel at the center of the investigation.
On Friday, George Pino's case was addressed in a Miami Dade courtroom.
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WATCH HEREPino, who has pleaded not guilty, was booked into jail last year on a charge of vessel homicide/operate in reckless manner in the Sept. 4, 2022 crash.
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Pino, 54, was driving the 29-foot vessel with 14 passengers on board when he crashed into a channel marker near Boca Chita Key, according to prosecutors and officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The boat capsized and all the passengers, including several teens, were thrown into the water.
The crash killed 17-year-old Luciana Fernandez, a senior at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy in Miami, and injured most of the passengers on the boat, including Katerina Puig, who was 18 at the time and was left permanently disabled.
Pino was initially charged with misdemeanor counts including careless boating, but about two years later state attorneys decided to file a homicide related charge.
On Friday, State Attorney Laura Adams told the court her investigators and Pino's attorneys will get to unwrap the boat and analyze it.
The wrecked vessel, a major piece of physical evidence on the case, is currently being stored outside an FWC facility, in Saran wrap.
According to Adams, in the presence ofdefense and state attorneys, the wrap will be removed and the inspection will begin by both parties.
It's unclear what attorneys will be looking for.
A tentative inspection date was set for March 7.
