‘We can still see his glowing smile.’ Families mourn 2 friends killed in Fernandez boat crash

Emilio Macias Jr. would have celebrated his 32nd birthday on Wednesday. He might have become a big mover and shaker in Miami’s financial industry. After all, in his mid-20s, the charismatic and handsome Macias had already forged a successful career at Wells Fargo, helping clients manage their money.

His longtime friend, Eduardo Rivero, would be turning 30 in November. Known as “Eddy Green Eyes,” he too might have risen through the ranks of his own industry. He’d just started a new job as a vacation planner at Carnival Cruise Line.

Their families should be celebrating their birthdays. Instead, they are marking the dates of their deaths — Saturday marks five years since Macias and Rivero died in a violent crash aboard the boat of Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez, who also was killed.

Unlike the Miami Marlins star, Macias and Rivero were not celebrated athletes. But for their relatives, they were stars whose memories deserve to be cherished, even on such a cruel anniversary.

“As time passes and we look back at his life, we can clearly remember the glow and charisma that he would bring every time he would enter a room. His great looks, as he would say, would turn heads,” his father, Emilio Macias Sr., and stepmother, Eneida Macias, said in a statement. “And boy did he enjoy that. To this day, we can still see his glowing smile when he would accomplish his goals. Turning from a teenager to a man, success was one of his objectives.”

The families declined interviews. Emilio Macias Sr. provided a statement through their families’ attorney, Chris Royer, of the Krupnick Campbell law firm in Fort Lauderdale

Rivero’s mother, Mirta Michi Diaz-Morin, said the memories of “my beautiful angel as a kid, teenager and young man turn over and over in my mind as I imagine how his life would be now had this terrible day not occurred.”

“He had so many dreams: a career in psychology that he was studying when he passed, a marriage with children and a future of helping others. I knew as his mother that he would be successful in any path he chose,” she said in a statement. “He was intelligent, charismatic and funny. A happy person that love to play pranks on his friends and family. But, life took him away too soon.

She added: “We missed him dearly and no day goes by that I don’t see his eyes looking upon us. I’m sure his light will always shine over all the people he loved. I will always love him and look forward to the day we meet again.”

Longtime friends, Macias and Rivero were both raised in West Miami-Dade and graduated from G. Holmes Braddock High. They attended Florida International University. “They were together all the time,” Rivero’s cousin, Aileen Victoria, told the Herald in 2016. “They treated each other like brothers.”

Only Rivero knew Fernandez, and had gone out with him that fateful night aboard the pitcher’s 32-foot boat, Kaught Looking.

One of Rivero’s friends later said he’d left a birthday party to go hang out with the pitcher, who was “feeling stressed out.” “He was that type of guy,” the friend told the Herald in 2016. “He wanted to be there for him.”

Early on Sept. 25, 2016, Rivero and Fernandez docked at American Social, a hip bar on the Miami River. Macias lived in the adjacent condo building, and came down to meet the baseball star.

After drinks, the three went for a boat ride, out through Government Cut and into the Atlantic Ocean. While returning to Government Cut, the boat — traveling at about 65 mph — plowed into the north jetty just past 3 a.m., killing all three. Rivero was 25, Macias 27.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission later determined that Jose Fernandez was drunk and high on cocaine, and was behind the wheel when the vessel crashed. His mother and attorney continue to deny that Fernandez was to blame. The Macias and Rivero estates settled a negligence lawsuit with Fernandez’s estate two years later.

Macias and Rivero’s deaths stunned family and friends. In the aftermath, supporters raised more than $40,000 each to help support the grieving families.

Emilio Macias Sr., who is a detective with Miami-Dade Police, wrote in his statement that family members still cry remembering the day of the crash but will always cherish memories of the loved one they lost. “We have no doubt that if he would be here today with us, he would still be the greatest son in the world in our eyes. As his birthday approaches, his grandmother, brother, family, friends, strangers, and us, will always remember the tragedy that not only took him away from us but also the lives of two other sons.”

This story was originally published September 22, 2021 at 7:00 AM.