Two Boat Operators Charged in Fatal Hit-and-Run of Teen Ballerina Wakeboarding in Florida

Ella Adler died on May 11, 2024 after in the area of Key Biscayne just south of Miami when she fell off her board. She had been in the water alongside a friend, with the girls falling at different spots, according to The Associated Press.

Before her boat, which was a 42-foot Hanse Fjord walk-around with a dozen people on board, could turn around to pick her up, witnesses told police they saw another boat strike her, and then immediately speed away.

Witnesses were able to get a strong description of the boat, which led them to a Boston whaler docked behind the home of Carlos Guillermo Alonso, now 79 years old. After a "thorough investigation" by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, charges were announced on Tuesday.

On April 28, Alonso was hit with charges for violating two U.S. Coast Guard Navigational Rules, per The AP. The following day, the man operating the boat that was pulling Adler and her friend, 31-year-old Edmund Richard Hartley, was also hit with charges for violating four U.S. Coast Guard rules. Both men pleaded not guilty on May 21, per the Miami Herald.

All of these charges are misdemeanors and related to Careless Operation of a Vessel. According to a statement from the FWC received by People, the rules allegedly violated by Alonso are as follows:

• Rule #2: Responsibility
• Rule #5: Look-out

The rules allegedly violated by Harley are:

• Rule #2: Responsibility
• Rule #5: Look-out
• Rule #7: Risk of Collision
• Rule #8: Act to Avoid Collision

If convicted each man would face 60 days in jail and a $500 fine for the criminal charges. Trial is set for June 30.

A press release at the time of the accident from the FWC stated that Alonso "is cooperating with the investigation." Alonso's lawyer, Lauren Field Krasnoff, called the incident "the worst possible tragedy that anyone could imagine," but he reportedly said he did not know if he had struck anyone with his boat.

"If his boat was involved, I can tell you he had absolutely no idea that that is what happened that day. He is as devastated as anybody could be," Krasnoff said at the time. "He docked his boat in plain sight, and most importantly, he's been cooperative with law enforcement and with anybody that has needed to investigate what happened on the water that day."

Following the charges, which Krasnoff said she and her team were "very surprised" by, she told People, "What happened last year was an absolute tragedy. But it was not Bill’s fault. Bill is an experienced and cautious boater and that is how he acted that day."

"FWC explicitly told us that they did not find Bill’s actions caused the accident," she continued. "We understand that FWC is under a lot of pressure from recent events. But now, after telling us that Bill was not to blame, we will need to get to the bottom of this charging decision a year later."

The FWC also released a new statement, post-charges, per ABC News, saying that it "extends its deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Ella Adler. Our thoughts remain with them as they continue to cope with this unimaginable loss."

In her obituary, Adler was remembered as a "star" and "force of nature.

"In her 15 years on this earth, she dazzled us with her light. She emanated love and joy. She was beautiful. When she walked into a room, everyone was drawn to her. She loved to dance, she loved her friends, and most of all she loved her family - her parents, Amanda and Matthew, and her younger siblings Jaden and Adalynn," it read.

She was also remembered as an accomplished ballerina and someone who "loved her friends deeply."