Miami-Dade prosecutors say fresh forensic evidence paints a stark picture of what happened before a Biscayne Bay joyride turned deadly. A newly released analysis alleges the operator of a 29-foot Robalo ignored basic navigation rules before slamming into a channel marker and killing 17-year-old Luciana “Lucy” Fernandez.
According to the report, the vessel was cutting through the water at high speed on the wrong side of a clearly marked channel as it approached marker No. 15 near Boca Chita Key on Sept. 4, 2022. Prosecutors say the analysis will be a cornerstone of their case as it winds its way through the courts.
What the prosecution’s expert found
To reconstruct the final minutes before impact, prosecutors hired Boynton Beach GPS-forensics consultant Paul Alber to recover and analyze the boat’s electronic navigation data. His findings fault operator George Pino for failing to maintain a proper lookout and for unsafe operation, according to Local 10.
Alber wrote that “operating a 29-foot vessel with thirteen passengers, most of whom were crowded in the bow, was unsafe at high speed in open water,” and that Pino allowed the boat to travel “on a direct collision course” with a channel marker. The report lists multiple violations of inland navigation rules and concludes the boat did not reduce speed or alter course as it neared marker No. 15.
FWC report and crash scene
The Florida Fish and Wildlife incident summary puts the point of impact at green day marker No. 15 (coordinates N25°22.040’ W080°16.855’) and notes that the vessel hit the marker on the starboard bow, capsized and threw all 14 people aboard into the water; one passenger, Luciana Fernandez, was later pronounced dead, according to FWC…