A lawsuit against a well-known South Florida real estate developer’s wife in connection with a 2022 crash that killed one teen and left another permanently disabled has been settled for $16 million.
A lawsuit against a well-known South Florida real estate developer's wife in connection with a 2022 crash that killed one teen and left another permanently disabled has been settled for $16 million.
Court documents filed last week show Cecilia Pino, the wife of developer George Pino, agreed to pay the $16 million to the family of Katerina Puig.
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Puig was one of 14 people who were thrown into the water when the 29-foot boat George Pino was driving hit a channel marker in the Intracoastal Waterway near Boca Chita Key on Sept. 4, 2022.
The crash killed 17-year-old Luciana Fernandez, a senior at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy in Miami.
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Puig, who was 18 at the time of the crash, was left permanently disabled.
Kathya and Rodolfo Puig, her parents, had filed the lawsuit, accusing George Pino of drinking before the crash and saying he and his wife gave the teens alcohol.
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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.
George Pino refused a breathalyzer test after the crash, authorities said.
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.
George Pino has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor counts of careless boating.
