2nd man pleads guilty, avoids jail time in 2024 boat crash that killed 15-year-old near Key Biscayne

Two years after 15-year-old Ella Adler was killed by a boat near Key Biscayne, a second man has taken a plea deal in the case.

The captain of the boat that was towing the teen while she was wakeboarding, 31-year-old Edmund Hartley, pleaded guilty Tuesday to two second-degree misdemeanor charges related to boating safety.

Speaking in a Miami-Dade courtroom, Ella Adler's father, Matthew Adler, spoke about his daughter, who died near the Nixon Beach sandbar on May 11, 2024.

"Whenever I have the opportunity to speak about Ella and tell people who she was, I feel an obligation as her father to keep her memory alive," Matthew Adler said. He added that Ella's "final year was in many ways her happiest and most exciting," noting she was "thriving academically, participating in debate, performing in the school musical 'Chicago' and growing into an exceptional young woman with limitless potential ahead of her".

Authorities said Adler was fatally struck by a boat after she fell off a wakeboard into the water.

Two men were charged in the case: Hartley, who was driving the boat towing her, and 79-year-old Carlos Alonso, who was driving the boat that struck the teen.

Miami-Dade Assistant State Attorney Laura Adams contended that Hartley continued pulling Ella's friend on the wakeboard even after it was clear Ella had fallen. "We know this because there was cell phone footage," Adams said.

Hartley pleaded guilty to failure to have due regard for dangers and failure to use all available means to determine if the risk of a collision exists.

Under the plea agreement, Hartley will serve six months of probation, complete a boating safety course and donate money to crime victim compensation funds. He also received an additional six months of probation for the second charge, which will be served only if he violates the terms of the first probation period.

Ella Adler's father told Hartley he hopes the case shapes his sense of responsibility moving forward. "We understand you did not intend for Ella to die, but intent alone cannot define accountability," Adler said. "Responsibility matters. Judgment matters. Vigilance matters".

Hartley did not speak in court, though his attorney told the judge that his client wanted to resolve the case.

Alonso, the man who struck the teen, accepted a plea deal in January of this year. He was sentenced to six months' probation and ordered to complete a boating safety course.