MIAMI (WSVN) - A devastated father took the stand in the trial of the man at the controls of a 2022 boat crash that took his daughter’s life.
Tuesday was another emotional day in court, as day two of the trial of George Pino got underway in a Miami courtroom.
The first person on the witness stand was Lucy Fernandez’s father, Andy Fernandez, who was with his daughter and the occupants of the boat at a sandbar before the fatal crash.
He recounted those final moments with Lucy.
“She gave me a hug, and I remember it clearly, because that’s the last time I held her alive,” said Andy.
Andy said he remembered that the last thing he did, as he left on his own boat, was scream bye.
“And we pulled close to Lucy and we were very obnoxious and we started screaming, ‘Bye Lucy, we love you,'” said Andy.
He also confirmed that the girls had been drinking at the time.
“It was a situation where everybody was having drinks,” said Andy.
When asked if he believed he had any reason to believe Pino was not fit to operate the boat at that time, Andy responded no.
These are moments that stuck with him as he recounted every parent’s worst nightmare.
“We just kept screaming: ‘Where’s Lucy? Where’s Lucy?” said Andy.
Camila Alvarez, who was a passenger aboard Pino’s boat, also testified her experience in the deadly crash.
“I remember kinda popping up to my feet, looking around, I see George and the boat starts to move. When I first saw him, I saw George passed out. He was stuck in the aisle of the boat, tangled in some wires. I thought he had passed away due to the impact,” said Alvarez.
Alvarez told the court she attempted to help the girls in the water by handing out boat cushions.
“I do hear someone telling me, ‘Lucy, Lucy. She’s not here, she’s not here,'” said Alvarez as she got emotional.
Carolina Monterrey, another passenger from Pino’s boat, testified that she saw Katerina Puig, who suffered life-altering injuries from the crash, in bad shape.
“She wouldn’t open her eyes,” said Monterrey.
A short time later, Andy arrived to the scene.
“Right away, you could see what appears to be chaos,” said Andy.
Andy testified that he later had to confirm the identity of his daughter by her birthmark and her necklace after she was airlifted to the hospital.
“And when we walk in, a nurse is performing some sort of emergency CPR on her to just try and keep her faint heartbeat alive,” said Andy. “We have no doubt that she was holding on for [Melissa Fernandez] and I to get there.”
Earlier Tuesday morning, Pino’s attorney, Howard Srebnick, resumed opening statements one day after the judge dismissed the jury for the afternoon when Pino began sobbing in court and had to be checked out by fire rescue.
The moment happened as Srebnick told the court Lucy was like another daughter to his client.
Pino, a real estate developer, is on trial for manslaughter and vessel homicide in connection to the boating crash that killed the 17-year-old Fernandez and left Puig with a permanent disability.
His attorney recounted the Labor Day crash of 2022.
“George Pino, who tried to save [Lucy’s] life by retrieving her from under the boat. His efforts failed,” said Srebnick. “He was not thrill-seeking, he was not speeding, he was not doing ‘donuts,’ he was not racing any other boat. He was simply going back, he was in essentially internal autopilot as he had done many times before.”
They were all on the sandbar with several other boaters, including Lucy’s parents. Pino was later at the helm of the boat with his wife, daughter and 11 of her friends on board to celebrate her birthday when, the defense said, he was going the wrong way and struck a channel marker near Boca Chita Key.
“On this one time, something went wrong. Mr. Pino, according to the state’s expert, who you will hear testify, somehow lost situational awareness, meaning he must have lost track of the markers,” said Srebnick.
The state argues however that Pino was reckless.
“Right before he hits the channel marker, he’s going 47 miles an hour. He’s literally accelerating. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a case about responsibility and accountability,” said prosecutor Laura Adams.
Pino’s trial is expected to resume at 10 a.m., Wednesday.
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