Tugboat captain involved in deadly 2025 Biscayne Bay sailboat crash faces sentencing

The tugboat captain who was steering the barge that crashed into a sailboat on Biscayne Bay, killing three girls, is being sentenced on Tuesday.

Investigators said that several errors led to the deadly crash in July 2025, including not assigning a lookout when his view was obstructed.

The tugboat captain, Yusiel Lopez Insua, pleaded guilty and the prosecutors, the defense and the families of the victims all agreed on a sentence.

That sentence – one year in prison and six months of supervised release – will ultimately be decided by the judge.

The charge of seaman's manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. But Insua's attorney told CBS News Miami that the captain did not want to drag the families through a brutal trial.

That's why he said he changed his plea to guilty and took the deal.

Investigators said Insua's view was obstructed by a crane on the barge he was operating in July 2025, and he didn't assign a lookout.

They said he was also shopping online at the time of the crash. So, that's why he didn't see the sailboat with five campers and a 19-year-old counselor trying to wave him down.

Mila Yankelevich, 7, Arielle Buchman, 10, and Erin Ko, 13, were killed when the barge struck their sailboat.

His attorney spoke to CBS News Miami after he changed his plea to guilty.

"My client accepted responsibility before Judge Becerra for his criminal negligence in the tragic boating accident," attorney Walter A. Reynoso said. "My client is deeply remorseful for his conduct. He feels awful. He feels awful about the unimaginable pain and loss suffered by the three families who lost three very young daughters."