‘Katy is a fighter.’ What a badly injured teen soccer star faces after Keys boat crash

An Our Lady of Lourdes senior who was seriously injured in a Labor Day weekend boating crash off the Keys that killed her friend remains unconscious and continues to fight for her life, according to people raising money for her medical bills.

Katerina “Katy” Puig, 17, was among 12 teens who landed in the water after a boat driven by family friend and prominent Doral commercial real estate broker George Pino hit a channel marker and capsized in the Intracoastal on Sept. 4.

Katy was among four girls airlifted to Miami-Dade County hospitals. Luciana “Lucy” Fernandez died the next day from what the medical examiner said was drowning.

Katy remains in the intensive care unit of Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, near South Miami, family friend Alex Fraga said in a post on GoFundMe that as of Wednesday has raised over $250,000 for the teen’s mounting medical bills.

The post also sheds more light on what happened on the water after Pino’s 29-foot Robalo center console hit channel Marker 15 along Cutter Bank at the southern edge of Biscayne Bay. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating the crash, but the agency has released few details.

According to Fraga, Katy suffered head trauma when the boat hit the fixed navigational pole. When the boat capsized and threw everyone into the bay, she was unconscious and her friends came to her aid.

“Though her friends’ heroic efforts saved Katy from drowning, she took on water before being rescued by a Good Samaritan,” Fraga wrote.

The vessel’s occupants were at first rescued by civilian boaters, followed by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue boats and a helicopter, then crews from other agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard.

As soon as Katy arrived at Nicklaus, doctors performed emergency brain surgery to remove a large blood clot, according to the post.

“Over a week has passed, and Katy remains unconscious in ICU’s critical care. Family, friends, classmates, teachers, coaches and clergy have visited Katy to raise her spirits,” Fraga wrote. “Together we have prayed, laughed, cried and sang to motivate Katy at her bedside.”

Pino, his wife, Cecilia, their daughter and 11 other girls — all students at either Lourdes in Southwest Miami-Dade or Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart in Coconut Grove — spent the day at Elliott Key for a birthday celebration. The boat was heading back from Elliott Key to the Ocean Reef Club, the gated community and resort in North Key Largo where Pino is a member, when it crashed.

Katy Puig is a standout soccer player at Lourdes, and was named he Miami Herald Girls Soccer 7A-5A Player of the Year for the 2021-2022 season, a feat Fraga referenced in his post.

“But as we all know, Katy is a fighter. We have all seen her dominate the soccer field, and we pray that she delivers the same strength in the most incredible fight of her life,” he wrote. “We thank you all for the tremendous display of love and support, mainly because Katy knows we are all there cheering her on.”

Katy has made “slight progress,” according to Fraga, but said doctors say her recovery “will be long, arduous and costly.”

On Friday, Lucy Fernandez’s family released a statement requesting privacy and saying they will not provide further comment on the accident.

“As we deal with the heartbreaking loss of our daughter Lucy, we ask that we be afforded the ability to deal with our grief as a family, in private. We are devastated by this catastrophic event and plea for your understanding and compassion in this terrible time. We thank everyone who has expressed their sympathy, faith, love and support and ask for your continued prayers, not only for Lucy and our family, but for everyone impacted by this tragedy.”

Investigation continues

Miami Herald reporters visited the scene of the crash four days later and found a field of debris from the boat’s hull spread across the bay bottom to the left of and behind the channel marker — Green Marker 15.

The location of the vessel pieces and photos of the salvaged boat that show extensive damage on its starboard, or right, side could indicate that Pino veered just outside the official channel right before impact.

Pino has declined to comment since the crash and could not be reached for this report.

The water just outside the channel is about the same depth it is inside — about seven feet, with the shallow grass beds of Cutter Bank a short distance to the east.

Within navigational channels, numbered red and green markers border each opposite side, with the safe route being the distance between them. That particular channel is roughly 30 yards wide, large enough for two vessels like Pino’s to pass in opposite directions.

However, sources say a larger boat may have been either approaching the Robalo or had just passed it and created a large wake that contributed to the crash. Larger vessels, or ones with large wakes, might force boaters to slow down to comfortably pass through the channel.

The initial report on the crash from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission concluded that alcohol was not a factor. Officer Jason Rafter, an agency spokesman, said this week there was no breath test for alcohol, nor blood taken, because a designated officer known as a “drug recognition expert” observed Pino at the scene and said he showed no indication he was intoxicated.

“Our DRE checked the operator, and there was no sign of impairment,” Rafter said. “Impairment is always considered for every boat accident.”

According to a recent FWC report, there were 751 boating accidents in Florida in 2021 and 60 “boating-related fatalities.” Of those crashes, 149 involved boats hitting fixed objects either above or below the water’s surface, including channel markers.

The report also noted that with more than a million registered vessels in the state, Florida leads the nation in boat crashes and boating-related deaths.

“The vast size of Florida’s inland, coastal and offshore patrol areas, combined with a significant population of avid and diverse boaters, presents a unique and daunting challenge for the FWC and local and federal maritime enforcement partners,” the agency said in the report.

FWC brass on Friday issued a statement that investigators “have been working this terrible boating accident virtually nonstop since it happened.” But they also urged patience from the family, friends and the public.

“It’s top on our priority list and we’re committed to making sure a full and accurate investigation is completed quickly but thoroughly,” said Maj. Alberto Maza, FWC’s South Bravo regional commander. “I know these families would not want our investigators to sacrifice accuracy for speed.”