Miami Herald investigation of boat crash honored at Poynter gala. See the video
The Poynter Institute for Media Studies, a nonprofit that champions journalism and trains journalists throughout the world, honored the Miami Herald with a short documentary highlighting the Herald’s reporting of a criminal investigation of a fatal boat crash in Biscayne Bay.
Prominent Miami real estate broker George Pino was at the helm of his 29-foot Robolo boat when it slammed into a fixed channel marker on Sept. 4, 2022, near the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, killing 17-year-old Luciana “Lucy” Fernandez and leaving her Our Lady of Lourdes Academy classmate, Katerina “Katy” Puig, now 21, with a lifetime of disabilities.
The Herald, with Grethel Aguila and David Goodhue reporting and Joan Chrissos editing, uncovered flaws in the criminal investigation, led by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the law enforcement agency for the waterways.
The FWC did not interview key witnesses on the scene immediately after the crash. The Herald did; they told a different story from what the FWC said in its official report of the crash.
The FWC also did not give Pino a blood-alcohol test after the crash to determine his sobriety levels. Yet FWC investigators are trained, bolstered by the State Attorney's Office training, to administer a blood-alcohol test on a boat operator in boating accidents with serious or fatal injuries, the Herald's reporting found. The FWC said it did not have probable cause to give Pino the test.
The day after the crash, FWC investigators pulled the capsized boat out of the water and found 61 empty bottles and cans of alcohol on it. Pino's attorney has said the empty booze containers stemmed from several boats tied up that day off Elliott Key in Biscayne Bay.
McClatchy visual data journalist Susan Merriam was also featured in the documentary for her award-winning data visualization on the “Wrecked Justice’’ project.
The FWC’s investigation initially led to misdemeanor charges for Pino, who pleaded not guilty to the three careless boating charges and filed a motion to dismiss them. He was facing 60 days for each count in county jail if convicted.
After the Herald’s stories were published, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office reopened its investigation and charged Pino with felony vessel homicide and manslaughter, two felonies. His trial is scheduled for June. If convicted, Pino could face up to 15 years in state prison.
Poynter, based in St. Petersburg, produced a documentary of the Herald’s work, which was shown Saturday, Nov. 17, during its annual Bowtie Ball in Tampa. Each year, Poynter chooses a series of stories published by a news organization that have made an impact in a community, highlighting the importance of local journalism. Poynter chose the Herald's work for this accolade.
Poynter also honored “CBS Sunday Morning” anchor Jane Pauley, former New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet and Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau.
After the video of the Herald’s work was shown to the more than 500 people attending the gala, the Herald journalists received a standing ovation.
One member of the audience, Crystal L Lauderdale, posted on LinkedIn about the tribute to the Herald's team:
“During one special moment, the crowd rose not for a household name or a lifetime achievement (though that happened too – congrats to Jane Pauley, Garry Trudeau and Dean Baquet), but for a team of Miami Herald journalists whose investigative reporting posed questions no one else would. They held a powerful figure accountable, illuminated flaws in an official investigation and spurred new legislation.
“Their names aren’t widely known. Their faces aren’t on network television. But their work made things more fair, more just and more safe for their community.
“That ovation was for something bigger than a single story or even a career’s worth of impact. It was for the public service journalists provide every day seeking truth in an increasingly confusing world.’’
This story was originally published November 19, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
