Authorities say that two men are being charged with the death of a 15-year-old girl who was wakeboarding in Florida last year when her boat crashed.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said that on May 11, 2024, Ella Adler, 15, fell into Biscayne Bay while being pulled in the Miami area. She was hit by another boat that didn’t stop.
The people who were allegedly in charge of the boats that were involved in the accident have been charged after a “thorough investigation,” the FWC said Tuesday.
The FWC says that Carlos Guillermo Alonso, 79, is the suspected driver of the boat that hit the teen. He has been charged with two misdemeanours for careless operation of a vessel.
Edmund Richard Hartley, 32, is accused of being the driver of the boat that was pulling Ella. He has been charged with four misdemeanours for careless operation of a vessel, according to the commission.
Both of them are accused of breaking U.S. Coast Guard rules about responsibility and lookout. Hartley is also accused of breaking rules about chance of collision and action to avoid collision, the FWC said.
In a statement, the FWC said, “The FWC sends its deepest condolences to Ella Adler’s family and friends.” “Our thoughts remain with them as they continue to cope with this unimaginable loss.”
The FWC said that the guys were charged in late April. Since then, both accused have pleaded not guilty, and online court records show that they will be in Miami-Dade County court on June 30 for a trial hearing.
Alonso’s lawyer, whose name is Bill, said they were “surprised” to hear about the move to charge him.
“What took place last year was a terrible tragedy.” However, Bill wasn’t to blame, as his lawyer, Lauren Krasnoff, said in a statement Tuesday. The way Bill behaved that day showed that he is a skilled and careful boater. The FWC made it clear that they did not think Bill’s acts caused the accident. That is why we were shocked when we learnt about the sources.
“We know that recent events have put a lot of stress on FWC.” However, since you told us that Bill wasn’t at fault, we will have to find out why he was charged a year later, she said.
Hartley’s lawyer has been asked to say something, but they have not yet.
The FWC said that after a days-long search, officials finally got their hands on the boat they thought hit Ella. When asked about the accident, Alonso said he had “no knowledge” of it. His lawyer says he is “devastated” to learn that he may have been involved.
“This is the worst possible tragedy and before saying anything else, we want to express our deepest sympathies to Ella Adler’s family and friends,” Krasnoff said then.
She said Alonso was on the boat by himself at the time of the accident and had “no knowledge whatsoever of having been involved in this accident.”
Krasnoff said, “If he hit Ella that day, he certainly didn’t know it.” He also said that if he had known, he “absolutely would have stopped.”
He feels “absolutely devastated by the loss of this intelligent, accomplished and beautiful young woman,” he said.
Ella went to a college-prep day school in the Miami area called Ransom Everglades School. She had also been in more than 100 shows with the Miami City Ballet.
“Yesterday, the world lost a star. Mom and dad Amanda and Matt Adler told on News last year that their daughter Ella was “beautiful and shone brightly.” “In her 15 years she gave us more light than we could have ever dreamed.”
