MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — Real estate broker George Pino’s defense hired a neurologist to determine if he had suffered head trauma during the 2022 fatal boat crash, records showed.
Prosecutors charged Pino with manslaughter and vessel homicide charges after the crash on Sept. 4, 2022, killed 17-year-old Luciana “Lucy” Fernandez, a student at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy.
The defense asked Dr. Diana Barratt, a concierge neurologist, to consider if a traumatic brain injury ”caused amnesia and the creation of false memories regarding” the crash involving his 29-foot Robalo boat, records showed.
Pino and his wife, Cecilia Pino, met with Barratt on Feb. 2, and she considered medical records, including a brain MRI from July 1, 2025, and case records, including a video showing Pino with law enforcement, as he displayed “difficulty recalling facts,” according to the defense’s expert witness report.
Barratt also considered records showing Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel reported Pino’s head was bleeding, and “several people” said Pino was unconscious after the crash, near Boca Chita Key, according to the defense’s expert witness report.
According to Miami-Dade court records, Pino has a status hearing at 9:15 a.m. on April 13.
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