MIAMI (WSVN) - More than a year after a deadly boating accident that claimed the lives of three young girls, the tugboat captain involved in the wreck is set to be sentenced.
Yusiel Lopez Insua had initially pleaded not guilty after being charged with seaman’s manslaughter, but he later changed his plea to guilty for operating a barge with obstructed visibility and without a proper lookout.
The fatal crash happened in Biscayne Bay just off of the MacArthur Causeway in July 2025.
According to court documents, Insua was piloting a tugboat, pushing a barge loaded with construction debris across the bay, when a sailboat from the Miami Yacht Club carrying five girls and their teenage sailboat instructor collided with it.
Court documents also revealed that the vessel’s view was obstructed by a deck house and crane, with nobody aboard assigned as a lookout.
Some of the passengers aboard that sailboat were subsequently trapped under the barge.
Ultimately the crash claimed the lives of 7-year-old Mila Yankelevich, 10-year-old Arielle Mazi Buchman and 13-year-old Erin Ko.
Lopez Insua’s attorney, Walter Reynoso spoke to 7News following his last court appearance in July.
“My client is deeply remorseful for his conduct. He feels awful. He feels awful about the unimaginable pain and loss suffered by the three families who lost their three very young daughters,” said Reynoso.
Insua’s sentencing is set for 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday. He faces up to 10 years in prison.
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