MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — Paul Alber, a Boynton Beach-based forensics consultant with law enforcement and boating experience, completed a report in the case of George Pino, who is facing manslaughter and vessel homicide charges.

The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office released Alber’s report, which centers on the Sept. 4, 2022, crash near Boca Chita Key that killed 17-year-old Luciana “Lucy” Fernandez, a student at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, and seriously injured Katerina “Katy” Puig.

Prosecutors contracted Alber, who has been involved in hundreds of crash investigations and has four decades of boating experience, to inspect the 29-foot Robalo boat’s electronic navigation and recover and analyze its data.

“Operating a 29-foot vessel with thirteen passengers, most of whom were crowded in the bow, was unsafe at high speed in open water,” Alber wrote, according to the report. “While this arrangement might have been (marginally) acceptable for a slow-speed voyage within the protected canals of the Ocean Reef Club, it was wholly inappropriate for a 30-mile round trip across the exposed and congested waters of Biscayne Bay on a busy holiday weekend.”

Alber concluded Pino violated several navigational rules while traveling with his wife, teenage daughter, and 10 of his daughter’s teenage friends, including Puig and Fernandez.

“Pino allowed his vessel to travel at high speed on the wrong side of a well-marked channel and on a direct collision course with a channel marker,” Alber wrote, according to the report.

After he departed from North Key Largo, Pino spent three hours in Elliot Key before heading back, records show. He traveled 47 mph while approaching and striking marker number 15, according to the report.

“He neither reduced speed, or alter course,” Alber wrote, according to the report. “His inaction demonstrated a complete breakdown in situational awareness and hazard response, both of which are essential elements of safe vessel operation.”

Photos included in the report show the initial point of impact on the forward starboard side of the bow. A chart in the report showed that Fernandez and Puig were on the boat’s starboard side.

“Pino had every opportunity to maintain a proper lookout but failed to do so,” Alber wrote, according to the report. “He was operating in clear daylight conditions with calm seas without any environmental obstruction to his vision. The vessel was equipped with an advanced electronic navigation system capable of providing real-time positional data and enhanced situational awareness.”

According to the report, Alber cited six violations:

• Rule 2: Pino failed “to meet the standards,” according to Alber.
• Rule 5: Pino failed “to maintain a proper lookout,” according to Alber.
• Rule 6: Pino failed “to operate at a safe speed,” according to Alber.
• Rule 7: Pino failed “to properly determine the risk of collision,” according to Alber.
• Rule 8: Pino failed “to take proper action to avoid collision,” according to Alber.
• Rule 9: Pino “violated inland navigation rule 9 by improperly operating on the wrong side of a narrow channel,” according to Alber.

Interactive graphic: Closer look at report

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