George PinoPresident of Doral-based State Street Realty now faces a criminal homicide charge following a 2022 boating accident on Biscayne Bay that left a teenager dead and seriously injured from another.

Pino was charged with the crime during a court hearing Thursday morning after prosecutors re-evaluated the case, the Miami Herald reported. Pino was operating a 29-foot Robalo boat on September 4, 2022, when he struck a concrete mile marker near Boca Chita Key. There were 14 passengers on the boat, all of whom were ejected and suffered injuries in the accident, according to state investigators.

Luciana “Lucy” Fernandez, 17, a student at Notre-Dame de Lourdes Academy, died from her injuries, while her classmate, Katerina Puig, also 17 at the time, suffered head trauma, leaving her disabled. Another teenage passenger, Isabella Rodriguez, suffered a serious head injury but made a full recovery, according to the Herald.

Last August, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office filed three misdemeanor counts of reckless operation of a vessel, but those charges were dropped to pursue the felony charge.

If convicted, Pino faces a $10,000 fine and between 15 and 30 years in prison. When contacted by email on Friday, Pino provided Bisnow with a statement from his attorney, Howard Srebnick.

“I am appalled by the state’s surprise decision to bring this new charge more than two years later,” Srebnick said in the statement.

The new charge was announced following a statement from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue firefighter Mathew Smiley, who was one of the first to respond to the scene after the accident, the Herald reported. Smiley told prosecutors that Pino showed signs of intoxication after the crash.

The final report on the incident from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which investigates boating accidents, said Pino was not suspected of being under the influence while operating the vessel, so no drug testing sobriety has not been carried out. The day after the accident, 61 empty alcohol bottles and cans were found on the boat after it came out of the water, the Herald reported.

Video sequence acquired by NBC6 South Florida showed Pino telling FWC investigators that he “drank a couple of beers” before the crash, and investigators responded that “it’s not illegal to drink a few beers and drive.” Pino refused to submit a blood sample or take a breathalyzer test, according to the Herald.

“Officers at the scene of the accident determined that Pino was not intoxicated; Pino did not exceed any posted speed limit, Pino had the required number of Coast Guard approved life jackets on board the vessel and, although he himself suffered a head injury (requiring fifteen points of suture), Pino made heroic efforts to save the injured passengers, including diving under the capsized boat,” Srebnick said in his statement. “It was an accident, not a crime, much less a crime.”

The FWC worked with the State Attorney’s Office to conduct the investigation last year, but several witnesses to the crash told the Miami Herald, which investigated the aftermath, that they never were contacted even though they provided their information to investigators.

The investigation was closed on August 14, 2023, the FWC said in a statement. at the timewhich resulted in misdemeanor charges.

“This boating accident has touched the Miami community to its core,” FWC Maj. Alberto Maza said in the release. “So many lives were changed forever in an instant. Our hearts are still broken for the victims of this tragedy. Our investigators have conducted a thorough investigation into the accident and hope the answers provided in the report can bring some peace.

Pino has been a leading broker in South Florida’s commercial real estate industry for nearly three decades. He has arranged nearly $2 billion in sales transactions and negotiated more than 26 million square feet of commercial leases, according to his biography on the State Street Realty website. He was rewarded NAIOPIndustrial Broker of the Year five times, most recently in 2015.

Prior to State Street Realty, Pino worked for 20 years as a senior vice president at Codina Group and Flagler Real Estate Services.