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Miami Tugboat Captain Charged in 2025 Barge-Sailboat Crash that Killed 3 Girls, DOJ Says
Prosecutors say the tugboat lacked a proper lookout and visibility, and cellphone activity was detected during transit as three children died.
- On Tuesday, federal prosecutors charged Miami tugboat captain Yusiel Lopez Insua with seaman's manslaughter nearly nine months after his barge struck a sailboat carrying youth campers in Biscayne Bay, killing three children.
- Prosecutors alleged that Insua, while operating the 108-foot barge, failed to assign a lookout and had an obstructed view due to a deckhouse and crane blocking forward visibility.
- Children from the Miami Yacht Club were sailing near Hibiscus Island when their stalled sailboat became trapped beneath the barge; three young girls drowned in the wreckage.
- U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quinones called the incident a "preventable loss of life," stating that Insua faces up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted.
- Across the U.S. in 2024, there were over 550 deaths in recreational boating, though only 43 involved vessel collisions, distinguishing this tragedy from typical maritime accidents.
24 Articles
24 Articles
Associated Press News
Captain charged in boat crash that killed 3 girls from Miami sailing camp
Federal prosecutors say a tugboat captain has been charged with seaman’s manslaughter in a boat crash that killed three girls from a sailing camp in Miami.
Tugboat operator in Florida crash that killed 3 kids at sailing camp was on phone, prosecutors say
The operator of a tugboat pushing a barge that T-boned a sailing vessel last year, killing three children on board, was browsing internet marketplaces on his cellphone at the time of the crash, prosecutors alleged Tuesday.
Tugboat captain charged after Florida crash kills 3 children at sailing camp
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