Jun 7, 2026

MIAMI (Court TV) — A Florida man is standing trial on charges he killed his daughter’s teenage friend while boating drunk.

George Pino (Law & Crime)

George Pino, 55, has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and vessel homicide following an incident in Biscayne Bay in 2022.

Pino had taken his wife, daughter and 11 of his daughter’s teenage friends out to a sand bar in Biscayne Bay on Sept. 4, 2022, to celebrate his daughter’s birthday. Prosecutors say that while at the sand bar, Pino drank alcohol and provided it to the underage girls at the party.

When the group turned around to go back home at the end of the day, prosecutors say things took a turn. Pino allegedly “accelerated thorugh the ‘Cutter Bank’ channel, going from 43 miles per hour to 47 miles per hour before hitting a channel marker.” Prosecutors noted that the marker had been painted in a ‘day-glo’ green for increased visibility, and said that GPS data shows Pino had frequently driven past the marker on prior trips. Investigators also said that the GPS data showed that Pino had been driving on the wrong side of the channel before the collision.

The force of the crash allegedly knocked some of the teens into the water. Investigators said Pino was “slow to assist” Lucy Fernandez, one of the teenagers on board, when she fell into the bay. Fernandez later died; her cause of death was ruled drowning.

The family of another passenger on the boat, Katerina Puig, filed a lawsuit against Pino alleging he was negligent the day of the crash. That lawsuit, which is still pending, seeks unspecified damages for the “significant injuries resulting in permanent total disability” to their daughter.

Jury selection spanned days in the case as Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez presided over voir dire as attorneys dismissed jurors who had heard too much about the case. On Wednesday, one prospective juror warned that a woman, already excused from the panel, was watching news stories about the case at full volume on her phone, WFOR reported.