Manslaugher trial begins for Florida real estate broker in 2022 boat crash that killed teen girl

Grethel Aguila and David Goodhue, Miami Herald on Jun 8, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

MIAMI — Doral real estate broker George Pino walked into a Miami courtroom Monday afternoon to face trial in connection to a 2022 boat crash that killed a teen girl.

Pino, 54, is charged with manslaughter and vessel homicide in the Sept. 4, 2022, crash that killed 17-year-old Luciana “Lucy” Fernandez and left Katerina “Katy” Puig, now 21, with physical and neurological disabilities.

Both sides of the large courtroom were packed, with Lucy’s loved ones sitting behind the prosecution table and Pino’s supporters behind the defense.

A jury of 10 people, including four alternates, was seated Friday evening and is tasked with weighing the evidence in the case. Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez is presiding.

Pino’s case is one of the most anticipated trials in South Florida due to his prominence in the community, the teens on his boat being students at well-known Catholic private schools and widespread criticism of investigators’ handling of the crash’s aftermath.

Pino was driving his 29-foot Robalo boat through the Cutter Bank channel in Biscayne Bay back to the gated Ocean Reef Club in north Key Largo when he slammed into a steel channel marker, sending everyone on board into the water.

Pino and his wife were celebrating their daughter’s 18th birthday on Elliott Key on the day of the incident. Their daughter and 11 of her friends, including Katy and Lucy, were on the boat. They were headed to have dinner at Ocean Reef, where the Pinos were members at the time.

Lucy Fernandez died at a hospital the day after the crash. Katy Puig, a soccer standout with Division I college prospects, is still regaining basic motor skills. Several other girls were injured but have recovered.

After a yearlong investigation, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the state agency that investigates boat crashes, recommended three misdemeanor charges. Had Pino pleaded guilty to those counts, he would have faced at most up to 60 days in a county jail.

But following a series of Miami Herald articles exposing flaws in the investigation, the Miami-Dade state attorney’s office reexamined the case. In late 2024, prosecutors charged Pino with vessel homicide, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Then, last August, prosecutors charged Pino with another second-degree felony: manslaughter, which also carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years. That charge came after prosecutors interviewed the girls who were on the boat, some of whom testified about the amount of alcohol flowing on the vessel.