{"id":990,"date":"2026-05-26T18:01:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T18:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=990"},"modified":"2026-05-26T18:01:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T18:01:54","slug":"plea-deal-for-yacht-captain-charged-in-connection-to-teens-wakeboarding-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=990","title":{"rendered":"Plea deal for yacht captain charged in connection to teen\u2019s wakeboarding death"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The captain of the yacht that was towing 15-year-old Ella Adler, who was wakeboarding when she was struck and killed by another boat in Biscayne Bay, struck a plea deal with prosecutors Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=988\">South Florida dogs are getting high from THC exposure<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Edmund Richard Hartley, 33, pleaded guilty to two navigational rule violations, which are misdemeanor charges. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped two other misdemeanor charges.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Ella, a student at Ransom Everglades School in Coconut Grove, was being towed with another teen behind a 42-foot boat on a congested waterway off Key Biscayne when she was killed on May 11, 2024.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>As a result of the agreement, Hartley received a withhold of adjudication, meaning no criminal conviction will appear on his record, and was sentenced to six months of probation. He was also ordered to complete a boating safety course \u2014 and cannot operate a vessel for a 60-day period starting in June.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The captain was also sentenced to another six months of probation for the second charge, although prosecutors say they will terminate the probation if Hartley successfully completes the first term.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Hartley will have to pay $5,000 to the crime victims\u2019 compensation fund \u2014 starting with a $2,500 donation in Ella\u2019s memory made within 60 days. When he completes all conditions, prosecutors may agree to set aside Hartley\u2019s plea and drop the charges against him.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Ella\u2019s family, who attended the hearing, approved of the plea deal, prosecutor Laura Adams said.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Attorney Michael Band, who was representing Hartley, said the captain wanted to end the case for the Adlers\u2019 sake \u2014 and will have to live the rest of his life with the burden of the boating tragedy.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>When entering the plea, Hartley declined to address the court.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Two weeks ago, Ella\u2019s loved ones grieved the second anniversary of her death, her father Matthew Adler said in court on Tuesday. He recalled how his daughter was a \u201cbright, joyful, creative and deeply loved\u201d girl who was passionate about dance. She performed in more than 100 productions of Miami City Ballet\u2019s \u201cThe Nutcracker.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt just 15-years-old, Ella was flourishing. Her final year was in many ways her happiest and most exciting,\u201d Adler said. \u201cShe was thriving academically, participating in debate, performing in the school musical \u201cChicago\u201d and growing into an exceptional young woman with limitless potential ahead of her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p><b>READ MORE: \u2018The world has been robbed\u2019: Family mourns girl killed in boat crash near Key Biscayne<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=986\">As Miami federal case unfolds, Alex Saab could become Maduro\u2019s biggest problem<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Later into his comments, Adler addressed Hartley, saying the professional captain should have exercised more caution on the day of the incident and emphasized the importance of boating safety in South Florida. The tragedy, Adler said, spurred the family to establish the Ella Ridley Adler Foundation, which supports Jewish life, education and art.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will continue fighting for a world where no family lives with this kind of heartache,\u201d Adler said.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>Man driving boat got deal, too<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>In January, Carlos Guillermo \u201cBill\u201d Alonso, 79, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor careless-boating charges in connection to the accident. He was ordered to complete six months of probation and take a boater-safety course.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Alonso was operating his 42-foot Boston Whaler when he struck Adler, who was the granddaughter of Michael Adler, the U.S. ambassador to Belgium at the time of the incident. Alonso maintained he never knew he hit the girl. The accident happened on a busy Saturday afternoon on the waterway near the Nixon Beach sandbar off Key Biscayne.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p><b>READ MORE: Boater charged in teen girl\u2019s wakeboarding death sentenced to 6 months\u2019 probation<\/b><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Adler had fallen off the wakeboard and was treading water when she was struck. The other girl being towed behind the boat also was in the water.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The 2017 Hanse Fjord yacht that Hartley captained is owned by Jonathan Rothberg, a biotech multimillionaire who bought a $23.5-million home off the Venetian Causeway in 2021. Also on the yacht were Emma Roberts, then 30; Sebastian Pearce, then 21; seven 15-year-olds and three 14-year-olds. Ella was one of the 15-year-olds.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>One of the girls on the boat was Rothberg\u2019s daughter, a classmate of Ella at Ransom. Her 15th birthday was the day before the boat outing, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission\u2019s initial report.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>FWC investigators initially thought the incident could have been a hit-and-run. Officers did not locate Alonso\u2019s vessel until days later, when they found the four-engine outboard docked behind his home in the Hammock Oaks neighborhood, a gated Coral Gables community near Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=984\">\u2018Hot spots\u2019 remain in large Opa-locka junkyard fire, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue says<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p><i>Miami Herald staff writer David Goodhue contributed to this report<\/i><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Edmund Richard Hartley, captain of the yacht that was towing 15-year-old Ella Adler when she was struck while wakeboarding near Key Biscayne, pleaded guilty<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - 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