Tugboat captain to plead guilty in Biscayne Bay sailing camp crash that killed 3 children

MIAMI — A Miami tugboat captain who is facing a criminal charge for a deadly 2025 Biscayne Bay crash that killed three children is expected to plead guilty under a deal with prosecutors, according to his attorneys.

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Yusiel Lopez Insua, 46, is set to take a plea deal in July and will not go to trial, his defense said during a federal court proceeding on Tuesday.

“The case will be worked out,” said Walter Reynoso, Insua’s defense attorney. “My client will not put the families through a trial and expose them to relive this terrible tragedy.”

Lopez Insua has been charged with seaman’s manslaughter in connection with the July 28, 2025 collision off Hibiscus Island that killed three children aboard a youth sailing camp vessel — Mila Yankelevich, 7, Erin Ko Han, 13, and Arielle Buchman, 10.

A 19-year-old camp counselor and two children, one of whom was identified as Calena Areyan Gruber, 7, survived.

Federal prosecutors allege Lopez Insua was operating a tug pushing a construction barge when it struck the stalled sailboat in Biscayne Bay. Investigators said the sailboat had lost wind and drifted into the barge’s path.

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Authorities have said Lopez Insua was using his cellphone around the time of the crash and that data indicated activity on internet marketplaces.

Prosecutors also allege the tugboat’s pilothouse view was obstructed by a deckhouse and crane on the barge, and that the vessel lacked adequate lookout systems such as cameras or radar.

“INSUA’s cellular telephone was unlocked during the transit time leading up to the collision and indicated activity on internet marketplaces, including at the time when the collision occurred,” according to an indictment obtained by Local 10 News.

Court filings previously stated Lopez Insua had operated the vessel for years and had prior “near-misses” in the same area.

The crash is also the subject of at least one lawsuit in Miami-Dade County court.

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