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Insua didn't have a clear view as the tugboat pushed a barge
full of construction debris in Biscayne Bay, according to the
office. There was also no one assigned as lookout as it sailed
through the body of water sandwiched between Miami and Miami
Beach, the office said.
The sailboat was carrying a counselor and five girls when it
stalled in the barge's path, and Insua didn't see it before the
collision, according to the statement. The girls were ages 7 to
13, while the counselor was 19, according to the U.S. Coast
Guard.
The counselor and two girls were dragged under the barge, but
were able to escape. The other three became trapped in the
wreckage and drowned, according to the office.
“Our hearts are with the families of the children who lost their
lives in this tragedy,” Jason Reding Quiñones, the U.S. attorney
for the Southern District of Florida, said in a statement. “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.”
The internet had also been accessed on Insua’s cellphone around
the time of the collision, according to a forensic review.
Insua faces up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted.
The Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s
Office for the Southern District of Florida did not immediately
respond to queries about whether Insua has a lawyer.
Four of the children were rushed to a hospital, where a
7-year-old and 13-year-old were pronounced dead, according to
the U.S. Coast Guard. Days later, the Coast Guard said that a
10-year-old who had been in critical condition had also died.
The sailing boat had been submerged beneath the barge in
Biscayne Bay, where there are several small islands, including
Star Island, peppered with ritzy mansions.
The children were in their last week of camp, according to the
Miami Yacht Club.
Across the U.S. in 2024, there were over 550 deaths in
recreational boating, but only a sliver of those — 43 — were
caused by vessels crashing into each other, according to Coast
Guard statistics.
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