Captain who crashed into sailboat in Miami Beach given sobriety test: officials

David Goodhue and Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald on Jul 30, 2025

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MIAMI — The Coast Guard conducted an alcohol test on the captain of the tug boat that slammed into a Miami Yacht Club summer-camp sailboat Monday morning in Biscayne Bay, killing two girls and critically injuring two girls, officials said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

Capt. Frank Florio, commander of U.S. Coast Guard Sector Miami, said the test included a blood draw and is part of his agency’s investigation into the tragic collision. Florio didn’t say the results of the sobriety test or what the barge captain mentioned in his statement.

“We owe you answers, and we are going to find them,” Florio said during the briefing at the Coast Guard’s base in Miami Beach Tuesday, near where the crash happened between Hibiscus and Monument islands shortly before 11:30 am Monday.

Investigators will also be looking into whether the tug and barge’s crew were properly licensed to be on the water, he said. Florio also confirmed that the investigation will include the Miami Yacht Club, from where the girls launched their sailboat as part of a summer camp program.

Florio did not divulge many new details at the briefing — and didn’t identify the victims — but did say investigators believe all of the girls were likely wearing life jackets at the time of the crash.

Two girls — a 7-year-old and 13-year-old — died in the crash. Two other girls, ages 8 and 11, remain in critical condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital. First responders also rescued a 12-year-old girl and a 19-year-old woman, the camp counselor. A total of five girls and the counselor were aboard the sailboat.

Mila Yankelevich has been identified as the 7-year-old killed in the crash. Mila was the granddaughter of Cris Morena and Gustavo Yankelevich, two prominent Argentine media producers, according to La Nacion, one of Argentina’s two largest newspapers. The Argentine consulate in Miami confirmed Mila’s death.

The boat, part of a sailing camp at the Miami Yacht Club on Watson Island, capsized after the collision in the bay between Hibiscus and Monument islands. There were several sailboats in the water at the time of the crash.

“The entire MYC family is devastated by this terrible tragedy,’’ Emily Copeland, the Miami Yacht Club’s commodore, said in an email to the Herald.

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