Defense to call final witnesses in vessel homicide trial of George Pino

MIAMI — The defense will call its final witnesses Wednesday in the George Pino vessel homicide trial, a day after Pino’s wife and a couple of passengers onboard the boat that day took the stand.

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Pino, 55, is charged with manslaughter and vessel homicide.

Prosecutors accuse Pino, then 52, of being reckless when he lost control of a 29-foot Robalo boat in the early evening hours of Sept. 4, 2022 and slammed it into a channel marker near Boca Chita Key, killing 17-year-old Lucy Fernandez. Two other girls were seriously hurt, including 17-year-old Katerina Puig, who was left permanently disabled.

Pino’s wife, Cecilia Pino, told jurors Tuesday about the chaotic moments after the crash and said that afterward she was “just thinking of the girls.”

Claudia Portocarrero, who was on the boat celebrating the 18^th birthday of the Pinos’ daughter, said she and her friends were singing and waving their hands prior to the crash.

The defense claims something may have obstructed George Pino’s view of the channel marker, but the state maintains that none of the girls were standing up or placing their hands up in a way that would have obstructed Pino’s view.

“I just remember opening my eyes after the impact and seeing like a lot of white,” Portocarrero said. “And the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was George, and I thought he was dead. I just saw a lot of blood gushing and then my friends were telling me that I had to get out of the boat … by the time I was going to get off the boat it was kind of almost like turned, flipped, so instead of jumping from the boat, I practically like stepped into the water because of how tilted it was.”

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Portocarrero said she assisted one of her friends in helping to keep Puig afloat in the water before a rescue boat arrived.

Both she and another passenger who testified Tuesday said that while they each had a couple of alcoholic beverages, they didn’t see Pino drinking and said the speed of the boat did not feel excessive at the time of the crash.

A witness who was on another boat told the jury that his friend called out to Pino to check under the boat and Pino “immediately” went under the boat and then pulled Fernandez out before handing her over to the witness who had jumped into the water.

The witness said he then helped place her onto another boat that arrived.

Pino’s defense team claims the crash was a horrible accident and not the result of negligence.

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