MIAMI (WSVN) - Opening statements have been paused in the trial of George Pino, a real estate mogul accused of a deadly 2022 boat crash, following a health incident involving the defendant.
On day one of the trial, Pino began crying in court and said he wasn’t feeling well, prompting fire rescue to be called to check him out. He was not transported to the hospital.
Following that interruption, the judge decided to finish for the day due to the incident, the courtroom’s lack of AC, and the strong 6.1 earthquake off the coast of Cuba that impacted South Florida.
Earlier in the day, Monday, opening statements were underway as prosecutors argued Pino is responsible for the death of 17-year-old Lucy Fernandez. Still, Pino’s defense team said the incident was a tragic accident.
“This, ladies and gentlemen, is a case about responsibility and accountability, or I should say, the lack of both, on the part of the defendant in this case, George Pino,” said prosecutor Laura Adams.
Adams laid out her case against Pino in front of jurors, recounting the tragic moments Fernandez was found.
“They’re looking and looking. ‘Where’s Lucy? Where’s Lucy?’ Somebody yells to the defendant, still holding on to his boat, ‘Look under the boat! Maybe she’s trapped under there.’ She was,” she said.
Through storytelling, prosecutors took jurors back to Labor Day 2022 when the boating tragedy occurred that claimed the life of Fernandez and permanently injured Kathy Puig.
Authorities said Pino struck a marker near Boca Chita Key while his wife, daughter, and 11 of her friends were on board.
Prosecutors argue Pino was speeding through the channel before the crash.
“Right before he hits the channel marker, he’s going 47 miles an hour. He’s literally accelerating through that channel. Nine seconds. He never changes direction. He smashes right into it,” said Adams.
Adams called the GPS on Pino’s vessel that day a “silent witness.”
“GPS on his boat tracked his every move, his direction, when he changed direction, and it tracked his speed. The GPS on his boat was like a silent witness, watching and recording his every move,” she said.
Prosecutors also claim Pino had been drinking at a sandbar before.
“But the teenagers weren’t the only ones that had consumed alcohol that afternoon. So did Mr. Pino,” said Adams.
Then it was the defense’s turn. Pino’s attorneys argue their client was not speeding, racing, texting, or impaired while navigating through the channel, calling the fatal crash a tragic accident.
“[He] loved Lucy. He’d known Lucy since she was a little girl. He did not intend to crash into a marker. He did not intend for anybody to be hurt. His own daughter, his own wife, his own body was on that boat,” said defense attorney Howard Srebnick.
The judge has informed the jurors that they will be able to view the vessel in question.
The trial will resume on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.
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