Third girl killed in sailboat-barge crash drowned accidentally: Medical Examiner
Arielle “Ari” Mazi Buchman, 10, the third girl who died after a barge ran over a sailboat in Biscayne Bay last week, died of complications due to drowning, the Medical Examiner’s office said Wednesday.
The rising fifth-grader at Lehrman Day School in Miami Beach was one of five summer campers aboard a 17-foot Hobie Getaway that was hit by a 60-foot barge around 11:15 a.m. on July 28 between Hibiscus and Monument islands off Miami Beach.
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Mila Yankelevich, 7, and Erin Victoria Ko Han, 13, also drowned as a result of the crash, the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office ruled.
Mila was the granddaughter of well-known Argentine television producers Cris Morena and Gustavo Yankelevich and had moved to South Florida with her parents. Erin and her family had moved to Miami Beach in December from Chile, where her elementary school held a Mass in her honor. Ari’s family, too, has Argentine roots.
READ MORE: The two young girls who died in sailboat crash drowned: Medical Examiner
Another girl, Calena Areyan Gruber, 7, who was trapped under the barge, managed to swim out to save her life. She is home recovering after being treated at Jackson Memorial Hospital. A 12-year-old camper and a 19-year-old camp counselor were treated at the scene.
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The campers, all girls, were between the ages of 7 and 13. They were part of a youth sailing summer camp run by the Miami Yacht Club.
Ari was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital in critical condition last Monday and died two days later.
Ari’s funeral was held on Sunday, led by Rabbi Eliot Pearlson of Temple Menorah in Miami Beach. He said the community is devastated by her loss. The rabbi had known Ari since her naming ceremony when she was born and had married her parents, Todd Buchman and Rhonda Mitrani.
“I can’t think of anything that has affected everyone as much as this,” Pearlson told the Miami Herald.
This story was originally published August 6, 2025 at 12:32 PM.