Florida investigators identified the man operating a yacht that struck and killed a 15-year-old Saturday as Carlos “Bill” Alonso, 78. Still, his attorney said it’s not clear he was the one who hit the girl in Biscayne Bay.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, attorney Lauren Field Krasnoff told reporters on Wednesday that Ella Adler’s death was “an absolutely horrific thing that happened,” adding that Alonso is an “experienced boater.”
An incident report, however, filed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) named Alonso as the operator of the 42-foot yacht that struck Adler. The report indicated that Adler and another person were on wakeboards, towed by another 42-foot vessel around a mile offshore when they both fell into the water.
Ella was wearing a lifejacket with her board attached to her foot when the yacht hit her. The yacht operator failed to stop or slow down and continued west from Nixon Beach.
Investigators subsequently searched for the yacht, based on witness descriptions, and found it behind Alonso’s Coral Gables home on Tuesday. The vessel has since been towed in for investigation.
“I think he did know. I think the forensic data of the Alport engines is gonna show when the RPMs jump,” maritime attorney at Lipcon Margulies & Winkleman, Daniel Grammes, said during Wednesday’s “Crime Stories” episode.
“You know, even in a vessel that’s about 30,000 pounds, when you hit a hard object like that, you feel it. So, you know, all this conversation that he may not have heard it–So no matter what, [there] was careless operation on the vessel operator.”
“I don’t even think this person came forward. I think the FWC was the one that actually found the vessel and then quote, unquote, ‘we see cooperation,’ which to the extent we don’t know yet, but we will find out.”
It’s not clear at this point if Alonso will face charges.
Adler, a freshman at Ransom Everglades High School, was also an accomplished dancer who performed with the Miami City Ballet.
Check back for updates.
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[Featured image: Ella Adler/Handout]
Additional reporting by KC Wildmoon
