‘Recklessness is defined by the risk you create.’ July 4th boating safety urged

As South Florida embarks on one of the busiest boating weekends of the year, the family of the victim of one of the region’s most high-profile maritime tragedies in recent years is urging boaters to “have fun, be safe.”

That’s the motto of the Lucy Fernandez Foundation, a nonprofit Andres and Melissa Fernandez set up in the wake of their 17-year-old daughter’s death on Sept. 4, 2022. She was killed after a boat operated by Doral real estate broker George Pino slammed into a fixed navigational maker in Biscayne Bay coming back to Key Largo from a birthday celebration on Elliott Key.

The crash also left Lucy’s friend, now 21-year-old Katerina “Katy” Puig, with a lifetime of physical and neurological hurdles from the traumatic brain injury she sustained that day.

“One life lost on the waterway is one too many. Our community knows this pain all too well, and that is why we must continue working together to prevent these heartbreaking accidents,” Lucy’s father, Andres Fernandez, told reporters and dignitaries at a press conference at Crandon Park Marina on Key Biscayne Thursday for July 4th boating safety.

Last year, Andres Fernandez was named chair of a boating safety task force by Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to come up with recommendations to make South Florida’s waterways safer.

“People look at us, and they feel that they’re seeing themselves in the mirror, because we represent the average family here in South Florida, that grows up on the water, takes their family on the water, and never thinks that tragedy can strike,” Fernandez said.

“And, I think we are the living example that tragedy can strike at a moment’s notice when you least expect it, and we need to do a better job to prevent it,” Fernandez said.

The eight-member Boater Safety and Bay Education Task Force submitted its final report in May to the county with recommendations on better boater education, enforcement and waterway management, Levine Cava said, adding the document was presented to county commissioners this month.

Levine Cava also noted how the Lucy Fernandez Foundation was instrumental in pushing the Florida Legislature to pass a law in 2025 that toughens penalties for boating crashes that end in serious injury, for providing misleading statements to law enforcement during a boat-crash investigation, and boating under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

“And rather than allowing this tragedy to define them, they went to work to see what they can do to turn their grief into action to benefit all of us,” the mayor said. “We owe them an incredible debt of gratitude.”

Thursday’s event comes two weeks after a jury found Pino not-guilty on vessel homicide and manslaughter charges. Although Pino was driving on the left side, which is the wrong side, of Cutter Bank channel when he hit the steel marker at just under 50 mph, his lawyer Howard Srebnick repeatedly argued at trial that his client wasn’t being reckless because he wasn’t “hotdogging,” meaning obviously driving dangerously to show off.

Fernandez referenced that argument Thursday when discussing the need for tougher boating laws and operator education.

“As we head into one of the busiest boating weekends of the year, it’s clear that our work is far from done. If the only reckless boating we recognize is the kind dramatic enough to make headlines, doing donuts, hotdogging, racing or weaving through traffic, then we have missed the bigger picture. Recklessness is defined by the risk you create, not by how dramatic it looks,” Fernandez said.

‘Unimaginable pain’

In arguing for tougher boating laws, Fernandez noted that Biscayne Bay has been the source of more families’ grief in the years since Lucy was killed.

“This task force was created because of tragedies that should never have occurred. My family formed the Lucy Fernandez Foundation after losing our 17-year-old daughter Lucy in a senseless and preventable boating accident on Labor Day 2022,” Fernandez said. “Since then, other families, including those of Ella Adler and the three young girls on Hibiscus Island have joined us in grief.”

Ella Adler, 15, was fatally struck by a 42-foot boat on May 11, 2024, as she was wakeboarding behind a yacht off Key Biscayne.

The three girls Fernandez referenced are Mila Yankelevich, 7, Erin Victoria Ko Han, 13, and Arielle ‘Ari’ Mazi Buchman, 10. The Miami Yacht Club summer campers were killed when the 17-foot Hobie Getaway sailboat they were riding was struck by a 60-foot barge being pushed by a tugboat on July 28, 2025, near Hibiscus Island.

“Their stories, their futures and their families’ unimaginable pain, have guided every discussion we have had,” Fernandez said. “Their absence is the reason we came together, and their memory is the reason we must act.”

Although Lucy’s Law resulted in tougher penalties for wrongdoing on the water, its advocates fell short of convincing lawmakers to require people have more training before they get behind the helm. State law requires those born after Jan. 1, 1988, to complete a boater-safety course before they can operate a vessel.

According to the latest Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission data, 68 percent of boat operators in fatal accidents had no formal boating education.

The original text of Lucy’s Law sought to expand the age requirement to any adult who hasn’t lived in Florida for five consecutive years. That was stripped before the law was passed.

Both Levine Cava and Fernandez hope efforts of the task force could push the Legislature to mandate more boater education requirements.

“The facts don’t lie. Year after year, the statistics confirm that over 65 percent of the operators in fatal boating accidents had received no boater safety education whatsoever,” he said. “These are not just statistics. These are lives lost, futures stolen – families like ours that are forever broken and changed. This is the context in which Mayor Levine Cava has acted.”

‘Be prepared before you leave’

While more than one million registered boaters, Florida earns its title as “the boating capital of the world.” With that qualification, the state also leads the nation in fatal boating accidents, and Miami-Dade year after year toggles between first or second place out of all Florida’s 67 counties, according to the FWC.

This makes boating dangerous on any given day, but ups the ante on busy holiday weekends like the Fourth of July.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Raied “Ray” Jadallah said boaters must have safety as a top priority long before setting out on the water.

“The common theme for public safety is ‘be prepared before you leave,’” Jadallah said. “And that’s before you leave the house and before you leave the docks.”

Jadallah stressed the importance of packing enough water, especially as temperatures are forecast to soar this weekend.

“Heat and sun can quickly lead to dehydration and heat illnesses,” the chief said, also urging people to limit alcohol, which can exacerbate dehydration.

Jadallah also noted the dangers of starting boat engines with swimmers in the water, the importance of having enough life jackets for every passenger on the boat, telling on someone on land where you’re planning to go in case of emergency, and to educate everyone on the boat to use VHF Channel 16 to call for help.

Levin Cava said that although drinking on a boat is legal, it is illegal to operate a boat while intoxicated.

“Everyone knows you should not drive drunk. Right? You don’t drink and drive a car. That has become common awareness and understanding. And the same is true and just as important when operating a boat,” she said.

Having a clear mind when operating a boat may be even more important than when driving a car, the mayor said, “because you’re sharing the water so many swimmers, the kayakers, the paddleboarders, the divers, personal watercraft and vessels that may be difficult to see on the water. And every person on the water deserves to return home safely.”

Everyone on the water should also be mindful of the environment this weekend, Levine Cava said.

“Respect the no-wake zones. Slow down in designated manatee protection areas. Stay clear of sensitive habitats, like seagrass beds and mangroves,” she said. “And when your day on the water is over, take everything you brought with you. Don’t trash the bay.”

This story was originally published July 2, 2026 at 3:56 PM.