Jury selection resumes Friday in trial against man accused in fatal Biscayne Bay boat crash in 2022

Jury selection is set to resume Friday inside a Miami courtroom in the trial against a South Florida real estate developer who is facing charges connected to a fatal boat crash that occurred in Biscayne Bay back in 2022.

George Pino is facing manslaughter and vessel homicide charges after the boat crash that occurred near Boca Chita Key in Biscayne Bay in September 2022, killing Pino's daughter's friend, then 17-year-old Lucy Fernandez. Now 21-year-old Katy Puig was left with a lifetime of disabilities after the boat crash.

There have been 80 people who have been selected to move onto the next round of jury selection, which is expected to resume on Friday morning.

Jury selection began on Monday before a brief pause on Tuesday, as well as motions that were filed by attorneys on both sides on Wednesday and Thursday.

The pause on Tuesday occurred because a potential juror who had already been questioned was outside the courtroom playing a news story out loud on her phone. That raised questions about the task of sitting an impartial jury.

She was allegedly asking someone about the year the crash happened and she was ultimately allowed to move onto the next round of jury selection.

That highlighted an earlier concern by the defense who wanted the trial moved out of Miami-Dade citing extensive media coverage. The judge said she would revisit that request if it became impossible to sit an impartial jury.

The judge is hoping to sit a final jury on Friday and hold opening statements on Monday.