Who are the Miami-area school kids on the boat that crashed off the Keys? What we know
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The investigation into 2022 boat crash that killed a high school student
On Sept. 4, 2022, a boat operated by real estate broker George Pino crashed in Biscayne Bay, killing 17-year-old Lucy Fernandez.
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One Miami-Dade high school student was killed and several others were injured in a Labor Day weekend boat crash off the Florida Keys.
Here is what we know so far:
▪ Lucy Fernandez, a 17-year-old senior at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, died from her injuries after Sunday night’s crash.
“She was a young woman of faith, well liked by her teachers and peers, empathetic, faithful and hungry for God,” Carmen T. Fernández, Our Lady of Lourdes Academy president, wrote in an email to students and parents. “And though her sudden passing is heartbreaking and has come as a shock to us all, I have absolutely no doubt that Lucy was ready to meet our Lord and enter his Kingdom.”
▪ Three other girls were airlifted from the crash. They are Lourdes students Katerina “Katy” Puig, 17, the Miami Herald Girls Soccer 7A-5A Player of the Year, and Coco Aguilar, 17, both in serious condition. Isabella Rodriguez, 17, the third girl, is a student at Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart.
Puig and Aguilar are standout soccer players at the school.
“Coco and Katy are a very important part of our team,” Lourdes coach David Fique said in a statement he sent to the Miami Herald. “They’ve been in varsity since their freshman year; both have attended three state finals and have won one.”
Aguilar was named Second-Team All-Miami-Dade County midfielder in April.
“The way she worked defensively was key for us in big games last season,” Fique said. “Her smile is contagious, and she is very loved by the group.”
Puig finished her junior year with eight goals and four assists, yet she came through in the most important moments for Lourdes to help the Bobcats reach the state semifinals for the third straight year and finish as the runners-up in Class 6A.
“I don’t see myself as a top scorer,” Puig said at he time. “I kind of see myself as the person that makes the pass to the scorer and motivating to the team. From the outside in, you can’t really see that I’m out there, but I’m the person that I can connect everyone.”
She was named First-team All-Miami-Dade midfielder and Dade County Player of the Year for the 2021-2022 season.
“It is my privilege to coach these girls and have them on my roster,” Fique said.
▪ Sarah Emily Gutierrez, 17, and Cecilia Lianne Pino, 18, were injured. Cecilia Lianne’s parents, George Ignacio Pino, 51, and Cecilia Pino, 47, were also injured.
George Pino, a well-known Miami businessman, was behind the wheel of the boat Monday evening, according to an initial report from the investigating Florida agency. Investigators said in the report that the crash does not appear to be alcohol-related.
READ MORE: A Miami businessman and civic leader was behind the wheel in Florida Keys boat crash
▪ Uninjured occupants were Camila Victoria Alvarez, 17, Paula Garcia, 17, Natalia Elena Reed, 17, Claudia Porto Carrero, 17, Carolina Monterrey, 17, and Andrea Laura Knoepffler, 17.
This article will include more information about victims when it is available.
This story was originally published September 6, 2022 at 9:07 AM.