More than a year after a fatal boating accident in Biscayne Bay, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has filed misdemeanor charges against two men in connection with the death of a Miami Beach teen, according to the agency.
Ella Adler, 15, was wakeboarding near the Nixon Beach Sandbar on May 11, 2024, when she fell into the water and was fatally struck by another vessel, FWC officials said.
Operator of striking vessel charged
Carlos Guillermo Alonso, 79, was charged on April 28, 2025, with careless operation of a vessel, the FWC said. He also faces two violations of U.S. Coast Guard navigational rules: Rule 2, which addresses the responsibility of the operator, and Rule 5, requiring a proper lookout.
Alonso was operating the vessel that struck Adler, according to investigators.
Wakeboard tow operator also charged
The day after Alonso was charged, the FWC charged Edmund Richard Hartley, 31, the operator of the vessel towing Adler at the time of the incident.
Hartley also faces a charge of careless operation of a vessel, along with four violations of Coast Guard navigational rules: Rule 2 (Responsibility), Rule 5 (Look-out), Rule 7 (Risk of Collision) and Rule 8 (Action to Avoid Collision), the FWC said.
