More than a year after a deadly boating accident that claimed the lives of three young girls, the tugboat captain involved in the wreck has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.
The judge compared Yusiel Lopez Insua’s actions to driving down Interstate 95 while blindfolded as the sentence was handed out, as the court found him guilty of seaman’s manslaughter.
Insua had initially pleaded not guilty after being charged, but he later changed his plea to guilty for operating a barge with obstructed visibility and without a proper lookout.
The family members of the victims walked out of the federal courtroom silently on Tuesday.
After the sentence was handed out, Lopez Insua’s attorney, Walter Reynoso spoke to 7News about what happened.
“He and his family and the defense team extend their deepest and most sincere heartfelt condolences to the families of the three young girls whose lives were lost,” he said.
The fatal crash happened in Biscayne Bay just off of the MacArthur Causeway in July 2025.
According to court documents, Lopez Insua was piloting a tugboat, pushing a barge loaded with construction debris across the bay, when a sailboat from the Miami Yacht Club carrying five girls and their teenage sailboat instructor collided with it.
Prosecutors said that the vessel’s view was obstructed by a deck house and crane, with nobody aboard assigned as a lookout.
Court documents also revealed that Insua was on his cell phone at the time of the crash.
Some of the passengers aboard that sailboat were subsequently trapped under the barge.
Ultimately the crash claimed the lives of 7-year-old Mila Yankelevich, 10-year-old Arielle Mazi Buchman and 13-year-old Erin Ko.
Reynoso shared that Lopez Insua felt deeply remorseful of his actions.
“Yusiel is profoundly sorry. He accepted responsibility for his conduct that caused this heart-wrenching, life-altering tragedy,” said Reynoso, “He is sick with grief, and will hold this intense guilt and remorse for the rest of his life.”
Insua is set to be placed on house arrest for 60 days, and is expected to self-surrender on Dec. 10.
