A tugboat captain has pleaded guilty to seaman's manslaughter in the deaths of three young girls during a boating incident in Biscayne Bay on July 28, 2025. Yusiel Lopez Insua, 46, wept as he accepted responsibility for the collision that killed seven-year-old Mila Yankelevich, 10-year-old Arielle Buchman, and 13-year-old Erin Ko.
The girls were part of a camp group from the Miami Yacht Club. They, along with two other campers and a 19-year-old sailing instructor, were in the bay when Insua's vessel, pushing a barge loaded with construction debris, struck their sailboat. The impact caused the sailboat to sink beneath the barge.
Prosecutors stated that Insua was distracted by his cell phone at the time of the incident. They also noted that the tugboat's forward view was obstructed by a crane and deckhouse, and no crew member was assigned as a lookout.
Insua, who initially pleaded not guilty, changed his plea in federal court. His attorney, Walter A. Reynoso, stated that his client is "deeply remorseful for his conduct" and "feels awful." Reynoso added that their thoughts are with the families enduring this "profound tragedy."
Under a plea agreement, Insua faces a sentence of one year and one day in prison, followed by six months of house arrest. His trial had been scheduled to begin the week following his plea.
The medical examiner ruled the cause of death for Yankelevich, Buchman, and Ko as accidental drowning. One of the surviving girls, seven-year-old Calena Areyana Gruber, managed to swim to safety. She was hospitalized in critical condition but has since been released and is recovering at home.
The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that Insua tested negative for drugs and alcohol, as did another person aboard the tugboat and one on the barge.
Mila Yankelevich was the granddaughter of Argentinian television producers Cris Morena and Gustavo Yankelevich. Her father, Tomas Yankelevich, is a producer and director, and her mother, Sofia Reca, is an actress. The family resided in Surfside, Florida.
This case follows another fatal boating incident in Biscayne Bay in 2022, where George Pino was acquitted of manslaughter and vessel homicide charges. In that incident, 17-year-old Lucy Fernandez was killed, and another 17-year-old, Katy Puig, sustained severe injuries.