KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. – Two boat operators are facing charges in connection with a deadly 2024 boat crash off Key Biscayne.
The cases were filed in late April, though FWC didn’t announce the charges until Tuesday.
Ella Adler, 15, of Miami Beach, was struck and killed after falling in the water while being towed by a boat while wakeboarding on May 11, 2024. Adler was a student at Ransom Everglades High School in Coconut Grove and was the granddaughter of Michael Adler, then the U.S. ambassador to Belgium.
FWC officials said Carlos Guillermo Alonso, 78, of Coral Gables, struck Adler and continued. His attorneys later said he was unaware that he had hit Adler and was “devastated” by the wreck.
Now Alonso, along with the then-30-year-old captain of the boat towing Adler, Edmund Richard Hartley, are facing charges under the state’s careless operation of a vessel statute.
FWC officials said Alonso, now 79, faces two misdemeanors for violating Coast Guard navigational rules relating to “responsibility” and having a look-out.
Hartley, now 31, faces four misdemeanors related to the responsibility and look-out rules, as well as navigational rules pertaining to the risk of a collision and taking action to avoid a collision.
A yacht captain told Local 10 News after the wreck that the area off Key Biscayne is known to be treacherous and not ideal for water sports.
Charging documents weren’t immediately available on Tuesday. An FWC spokesperson said the decision to charge the pair came after a “thorough investigation.”