According to Miami Herald, Yusiel López Insua, 47, admitted his responsibility for the crime of involuntary manslaughter due to maritime negligence, after reaching an agreement with the prosecution that was conducting the investigation of the case.
Thanks to this understanding, the captain avoided facing a trial in which he could have received a sentence of up to ten years in prison. Instead, he will serve one year of actual imprisonment, followed by six months of house arrest. The final sentence will be read on October 13.
Vessels involved in the incident
The possibility of a plea deal had already been anticipated months earlier by López Insua's defense attorney, Walter Reynoso, who explained that his client sought to prevent the victims' families from having to undergo a prolonged judicial process.
After the hearing, the lawyer stated that the captain fully accepted his responsibility for what happened. "My client accepts responsibility for his criminal negligence in the tragic boating accident," Reynoso said, according to CBS News Miami.
Additionally, he stated that López Insua is deeply remorseful for the consequences of the incident. "He feels terrible for the unimaginable pain and loss suffered by the three families who lost three very young daughters," the lawyer expressed to the press.
Mila Yan was 7 years old
The families of the victims decided not to attend the hearing in which the guilty plea was formalized, although some indicated that they would be present when the court issues the sentence.
How did the accident happen?
The tragedy occurred on July 28, 2025 in Biscayne Bay, one of the busiest boating areas in Miami. That day, López Insua was operating a tugboat approximately 25 feet long that was pushing a barge measuring 108 feet and weighing about 149 tons, used to transport debris from a demolition project on Star Island.
While navigating towards Di Lido Island, the barge collided with a Hobie Getaway sailboat belonging to the youth camp of the Miami Yacht Club, which was being operated by a 19-year-old instructor and had five girls on board. As a result of the collision, three of them became trapped under the barge's structure and drowned.
The victims were Mila Yankelevich, 7, granddaughter of Cris Morena and Gustavo Yankelevich; the Chilean teenager Erin Victoria Ko Han, 13; and Arielle "Ari" Mazi Buchman, 10, a member of a family with Argentine ties.
