A tugboat captain is facing a manslaughter charge in last year’s crash in Biscayne Bay involving a barge and a sailboat carrying campers that killed three young girls, authorities said.
Yusiel Lopez Insua, 46, of Miami, is charged with seaman’s manslaughter for operating a barge with obstructed visibility and without a proper lookout, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said in a news release Tuesday.
A group of five girls and their 19-year-old sailing instructor were on the sailboat when it was struck by the barge near Hibiscus Island on July 28, 2025.
The girls were in their last week of a sailing camp for children aged 7 to 15, according to the Miami Yacht Club.
Three girls – 7-year-old Mila Yankelevich, 10-year-old Arielle Buchman and 13-year-old Erin Ko – were killed in the incident.
A fourth girl was hospitalized and later released, while the fifth girl and the instructor were treated at the scene.
Prosecutors said Insua was piloting a tugboat pushing the barge that was loaded with construction debris when it struck the sailboat.
The vessel’s forward view was obstructed by a deckhouse and crane, and no one aboard was assigned as a lookout, the news release said.
“Due to the obstructed visibility, and lack of a lookout, Insua did not see the stalled sailboat before the barge struck it,” the release said. “A forensic review of Insua’s cellphone revealed internet activity during transit, including at or near the time of the collision.”
The counselor and two children escaped after being dragged under the barge but the other three girls were trapped in the wreckage and drowned, the release added.
Insua faces up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted.
“Our hearts are with the families of the children who lost their lives in this tragedy,” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said in a statement Tuesday. “This information alleges a preventable loss of life on our waterways, including the failure to follow basic maritime safety rules and cellphone use during transit at or near the time of the collision. We will present the evidence in court with care and professionalism. As in every case, the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Attorney Walter A. Reynoso, who represents Insua, released a statement Tuesday evening.
“Our client remains deeply saddened by the tragic boating accident that resulted in the loss of three young lives. He extends his heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims, while recognizing that no words can lessen the pain caused by this terrible tragedy,” the statement read. “As this matter moves toward resolution, our client intends to accept responsibility for his conduct and to resolve the case in a way that avoids causing the families any further unnecessary pain or anguish. Out of respect for the victims’ families and the pending court process, we will not be making any additional comments at this time.”
The U.S. Coast Guard had recommended criminal charges in the incident back in October.
A lawsuit filed in August on behalf of the 9-year-old girl who survived the ordeal claimed Waterfront Construction Inc., the barge’s owner, along with the Miami Yacht Club and Youth Sailing Foundation, were “careless, reckless and negligent” and failed to take “adequate measures” to avoid the collision.
Lorenzo J. Palomares, an attorney who represents Waterfront Construction, previously said the barge and tug were on their way back from tearing down a sea wall on Star Island when the incident happened.
The tug was doing 3.5 knots, Palomares said, adding that that detail will come out in a Coast Guard report.
Palomares also said the master of the barge has been operating it for over 12 years and that the mate who was serving as a lookout has been with the company for eight years without any major incidents.
All toxicology reports were negative, Palomares said.
