A well-known South Florida real estate developer is now facing a homicide charge in connection with a 2022 boat crash near Boca Chita Key that killed one teen and left another permanently disabled.
Miami-Dade prosecutors are charging George Pino with vessel homicide/operate in reckless manner in the Sept. 4, 2022 crash, according to court records filed on Wednesday.
The new charge is a second-degree felony, with a possible sentence of up to 15 years in prison if he's convicted.
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 passengers were thrown into the water.
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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.
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An incident report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said 61 empty alcoholic bottles and cans, one empty champagne bottle and a half-consumed bottle of liquor were found on the boat, but no one admitted to the consumption of alcohol.
Pino refused a breathalyzer test after the crash, authorities said. Authorities also initially said Pino was not impaired by drugs or alcohol while driving the boat.
But an attorney for Fernandez's family said prosecutors re-evaluated the case when a new key witness came forward.
The witness, a Miami-Dade firefighter who responded to the boat crash, told prosecutors alcohol was a factor in the crash, the attorney said.
The Fernandez family thanked Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle in a statement Thursday.
"The Fernandez family is grateful to Ms. Rundle and her team of lawyers for their perseverance and dedication," the statement read.
In a statement, Pino's attorney, Howard Srebnick, said the decision to file the charge came as a surprise.
"I am dismayed by the State’s surprise-decision to file this new charge more than two years later," Srebnick said. "Officers on the scene of the crash determined that Pino was not intoxicated; Pino did not exceed any posted speed limit, Pino had the required number of Coast Guard-approved life preservers on board the vessel, and despite sustaining a head injury himself (requiring fifteen stitches), Pino made heroic efforts to rescue the injured passengers, including diving under the capsized boat. This was an accident, not a crime, much less a felony."
The FWC incident report said Pino "did operate his vessel in a careless manner by violating four navigational rules." The boat was traveling between 45-47 miles an hour, which the FWC said was a factor in the crash.
Pino had pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charges last year.
An attorney representing Pino's family issued a statement after the initial charges were announced.
"The FWC and the State Attorney’s Office have conclusively confirmed this was not an alcohol-related accident. Multiple witnesses observed that another boat created an extra-large wake causing a loss of control," the statement read. "George and Cecilia Pino are devastated by the passing of Lucy and the serious injuries to Katy and others. The Pinos have already pledged their life savings to compensate and provide medical support for everyone affected by this horrible accident. They continue to pray every day for each person and family that was involved."
The parents of Puig filed a lawsuit against Pino and his wife, Cecilia Pino, that accused George Pino of drinking before the crash and claimed he and his wife gave the teens on the boat alcohol.
The lawsuit was settled earlier this year for $16 million.
The Puig family also reacted to the new charge against Pino in a statement Thursday.
“The Puig family is grateful for the State’s continued efforts in prosecuting Mr. Pino for his reckless operation of his vessel while transporting 12 teenage girls and resulting in the death of Lucy Fernandez," the statement read.
