A jury on June 22, 2026, found George Pino not guilty of manslaughter or vessel homicide, ending the criminal trial over the September 2022 boat crash off Boca Chita Key in Biscayne Bay that killed Lucy Fernandez and left Katy Puig with permanent disabilities.
The verdict came after eight days of testimony before a panel of five men and one woman. Pino did not testify. Jurors heard from Fernandez’s father, Pino’s wife Cecilia Pino, first responders, medical experts, boating experts and survivors, and they were shown body camera footage from the aftermath of the crash on September 4, 2022. They were also allowed to leave the courtroom to look at the boat involved.
The not-guilty verdict resolves the charge that Pino had been criminally responsible for the wreck, but it does not erase the facts that made the case so hard to watch. Fernandez was 17 when she died. Puig was 21 and was left permanently disabled by her injuries. In Miami-Dade, where the trial was closely watched, the case turned on whether the crash was a crime or a tragedy that unfolded in seconds.
That split ran through the courtroom from the start. Lead attorney Howard Srebnick said the events of September 4, 2022, were a tragic accident, not a crime, and said testimony included unrebutted accounts from eyewitnesses who saw no signs of impairment. He said Pino was not under the influence, was not operating the vessel recklessly and did everything he could to protect his passengers after the crash. Lead prosecutor Laura Adams pressed a different view, accusing Pino of reckless conduct and telling jurors he muttered, “it happens, it happens,” after they were dismissed for the weekend.
The specifics that persuaded the jury have not been spelled out publicly, and that leaves the final reading of the case to the verdict itself. What is clear is that jurors rejected the State of Florida’s push to convict on the two most serious counts before them. For the families of Fernandez and Puig, the criminal case is over, but the aftermath of the crash remains exactly where it started: with one life lost, another changed forever, and no explanation from the jury beyond its decision.
