A devastated father took the stand in the trial of the man at the controls of a 2022 boat crash that took his daughter’s life. Tuesday was another emotional day in court, as day two of the trial of George Pino got underway in a Miami courtroom. The first person on the witness stand was Lucy Fernandez’s father, Andy Fernandez, who was with his daughter and the occupants of the boat at the sandbar before the fatal crash. He recounted those final moments with Lucy. “She gave me a hug, and I remember it clearly, because that’s the last time I held her alive,” said Andy. Andy said he remembered that the last thing he did, as he left on his own boat, was scream, Bye, Lucy, we love you.” These are moments that stuck with him as he recounted every parent’s worst nightmare. Earlier Tuesday morning, Pino’s attorney, Howard Srebnick, resumed opening statements one day after the judge dismissed the jury for the afternoon when Pino began sobbing in court and had to be checked out by fire rescue. The moment happened as Srebnick told the court Lucy was like another daughter to his client. Pino, a real estate developer, is on trial for manslaughter and vessel homicide in connection to the boating crash that killed 17-year-old Lucy Fernandez and left Katerina Puig with a permanent disability. His attorney recounted the Labor Day crash of 2022. “George Pino, who tried to save [Lucy’s] life by retrieving her from under the boat. His efforts failed,” said Srebnick. “He was not thrill-seeking, he was not speeding, he was not doing ‘donuts,’ he was not racing any other boat. He was simply going back, he was in essentially internal autopilot as he had done many times before.” They were all on a sandbar with several other boaters, including Lucy’s parents. Pino was later at the helm of the boat with his wife, daughter and 11 of her friends on board to celebrate her birthday when, prosecutors said, he was going the wrong way and struck a channel marker near Boca Chita Key. “On this one time, something went wrong. Mr. Pino, according to the state’s expert, who you will hear testify, somehow lost situational awareness, meaning he must have lost track of the markers,” said Srebnick. The state argues however that Pino was reckless. “Right before he hits the channel marker, he’s going 47 miles an hour. He’s literally accelerating. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a case about responsibility and accountability,” said prosecutor Laura Adams. The next person expected to take the witness stand will be another girl who was on that boat at the time of the crash again. Pino’s trial is expected to last about two weeks. ...read more read less