Lawsuit IDs owner of barge in deadly Biscayne Bay crash with youth sailing camp boat

Lawsuit names barge owner in sailboat crash killing 3 children (Copyright 2025 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.)

MIAMI — A new lawsuit is identifying the owner of a barge involved in a Biscayne Bay sailboat crash where three children died.

The crash happened on July 28. Three children, Mila Yankelevich, 7, Erin Ko Han, 13, and Arielle Buchman, 10, died after a barge ran into their sailboat off Miami Beach’s Hibiscus Island.

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The girls were part of the Miami Yacht Club’s youth sailing camp.

A 19-year-old camp counselor and two children, one of whom was identified as Calena Areyan Gruber, 7, survived. Attorney Judd Rosen filed the suit, alleging negligence, on behalf of the other surviving child, a 9-year-old girl.

“It was her first day at the camp,” Rosen said.

The lawsuit, filed in Miami-Dade court, states that the barge and tugboat were registered to a company named Waterfront Construction, owned by businessman Jorge Rivas.

“Both of these vessels are slow-moving. The barge and sailboats don’t go at high rates of speed. That tells you right there this accident doesn’t happen without negligence,” Rosen said.

The Watson Island-based Miami Yacht Club and its Youth Sailing Foundation are also named in the suit.

“If you drop your kids off at a camp, you expect the right people are going to be in charge and they are going to bring your kids back safe,” Rosen said.

The suit alleges that all parties failed to take the proper actions to avoid the collision and says the girl suffered “permanent injuries as a direct result of this incident, and those injuries will affect her for the remainder of her life,” without elaborating as to their nature.

“From the operator’s standpoint, in the tug, there’s no vision of what’s in front of them. Driving this tug blindly into an area of heavy boat traffic,” Rosen said.

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating the crash.

Copyright 2025 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.

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Chris Gothner

Chris Gothner

Chris Gothner joined the Local 10 News team in 2022 as a Digital Journalist.

Samiar Nefzi

Samiar Nefzi

Samiar Nefzi joined the Local 10 News team in August of 2023.