FWC finalizes investigation into fatal Cutter Bank boating accident; operator charged

On Sept. 4, 2022, a 29-foot Robalo boat with 14 occupants aboard, all from Miami, struck a channel marker while traveling in the intracoastal waterway, bayside of Broad Creek at the south end of Cutter Bank in Miami-Dade County. All 14 occupants, which included 12 juveniles and two adults, entered the water when the boat capsized. Good Samaritans and multiple responding agencies recovered the occupants from the water and transported them to land and ultimately to hospitals to receive medical attention as necessary. One of the occupants, Luciana Fernandez (8/26/2005), died as a result of injuries she sustained in the accident and Katerina Sofia Puig (1/19/2005) and Isabella Rodriguez (11/17/2004) were seriously injured. 

All of the other individuals on board – George Ignacio Pino (10/9/1970), Cecilia Pino (9/12/1974), Coco Aguilar (7/28/2005), Sarah Emily Gutierrez (10/1/2004), Cecilia Lianne Pino (9/7/2004), Camila Victoria Alvarez (9/10/2004), Paula Garcia (9/14/2004), Natalia Elena Reed (4/15/2005), Claudia Porto Carrero 4/27/2005), Carolina Monterrey (4/19/2005) and Andrea Laura Knoepffler (11/06/2004) – also sustained various degrees of injuries. 

“This boating accident hit the Miami community at its core,” said Maj. Alberto Maza, South Region Bravo Regional Commander. “So many lives were forever changed in an instant. Our hearts still break for the victims of this tragedy. Our investigators have completed a comprehensive investigation into the accident, and hope that the answers provided in the report can provide some small measure of peace.” 

The FWC investigation into this boating accident has concluded. In consultation with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, the operator, George Ignacio Pino (10/9/1970), was formally charged with multiple criminal violations on Aug. 11, 2023.