Remember me
A tugboat captain broke down in tears as he accepted responsibility for a collision with a sailboat that killed three young girls in Florida - as prosecutors revealed he was on his phone around the time of the tragic incident.
Yusiel Lopez Insua, 46, wept as he pleaded guilty to seaman's manslaughter on Tuesday over the July 28, 2025, incident that left seven-year-old Mila Yankelevich, Arielle Buchman, 10, and Erin Ko, 13, dead, NBC 6 reported.
The three girls, two others, and a 19-year-old sailing instructor were in the Biscayne Bay on their final week of camp with the Miami Yacht Club when the tragic incident occurred.
Insua was operating a vessel that was pushing a 60ft barge full of construction debris that day. He suddenly plowed into the sailboat, causing it to sink underneath the barge.
At the time, Insua was distracted by his cell phone, and the forward view of the tugboat was obstructed by a crane and deckhouse. No one aboard the boat was assigned as lookout, prosecutors said.
Insua initially pleaded not guilty, but he switched his stance inside a federal courtroom.
He declined to speak to reporters after the hearing, but his lawyer, Walter A. Reynoso, said his client is 'deeply remorseful for his conduct' and that he 'feels awful'.
'Our thoughts remain with each of the families as they continue to endure this profound tragedy,' Reynoso told the outlet.
Yusiel Lopez Insua, 46, broke down in tears in court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to killing three young girls on July 28, 2025, in the Biscayne Bay
Mila Yankelevich (left), seven, Ari Buchman (middle), 10, and Erin Ko (right), 13, died after they got caught in the wreckage and drowned
He faced up to 10 years in prison, but Insua could be sentenced to one year and one day behind bars, followed by six months of house arrest following a plea deal.
His trial has been scheduled to begin next week, but Reynoso previously told NBC 6 that they were trying to avoid a trial because the girls' families should not have to be put through one.
The cause of death for Yankelevich, Buchman, and Ko was ruled an accidental drowning by the medical examiner.
One of the surviving girls, Calena Areyana Gruber, seven, was able to escape from under the barge after swimming to safety, an attorney representing her family previously told the Miami Herald.
She was rushed to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in critical condition, but has since been released and is recovering at home.
But directly after the fatal accident, Gruber's family said she was left with 'open lacerations and scrapes' all over her body.
The fifth girl and the adult camp counselor were treated at the scene after also escaping the water.
The three girls, two others, and a 19-year-old sailing instructor were in the Biscayne Bay during their last week of camp with the Miami Yacht Club
The U.S. Coast Guard previously revealed that Insua tested negative for drugs and alcohol. Another person aboard the tugboat and one on the barge had the same results.
After the horrid crash, it was revealed that Yankelevich was the beloved granddaughter of two famed Argentinian television producers, Cris Morena and Gustavo Yankelevich, La Nacion reported.
Her father, Tomas Yankelevich, is also a producer and director, while her mother, Sofia Reca, is an actress in Argentina.
The family lived a quiet life in Surfside, Florida.
In a now heartbreaking tribute to mark Mila's birthday on February 12, her grandmother called her 'my girl with wings, my happy and free little fairy.'
She added in Spanish that their 'moments together [were] filled with dancing [and] songs' and said her granddaughter embodied 'the sun, freedom and hugs.'
One year prior, in another social media post, Morena called her granddaughter 'my cutest little girl in the world... My red heart, my everything.'
The update in this heartbreaking case comes after another boat captain, George Pino, was acquitted of second-degree manslaughter and vessel homicide after crashing a boat in Biscayne Bay in 2022.
Pino was piloting the 29-foot boat carrying his wife, daughter, and several of his daughter's teenage friends when he crashed the vessel into a concrete channel marker.
Lucy Fernandez, 17, was killed in the incident. Katy Puig, who was also 17 at the time, suffered a traumatic brain injury and has been left with permanent disabilities.
He was acquitted on June 22.