A 78-year-old Florida man has been identified by Florida officials as the man whose boat allegedly struck and killed a 15-year-old girl on Saturday.
Aspiring ballerina Ella Riley Adler was killed after she lost hold of a tow rope while wakeboarding. While in the ocean, she was struck by a boat that reportedly did not slow down or stop, according to the New York Post.
First responders said her fatal injuries led to “a lot of blood” around her in the water.
Carlos Guillermo Alonso, 78, of Coral Gables was named a suspect by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Owner of Boat that Killed 15-Year-Old Wakeboarder Ella Adler Is Identified https://t.co/xkzywBOF4y
— People (@people) May 15, 2024
Alonso, “struck the female wake boarder who was in the water, further away” from the boat that had been towing her, a report said, according to the Miami Herald.
Alonso is a “very experienced boater who knows these waters,” attorney Lauren Krasnoff said in a statement Wednesday, The Palm Beach Post reported.
Alonso, who Krasnoff referred to as Bill, “has no knowledge whatsoever of having been involved in this accident. If he hit Ella that day, he certainly did not know it,” the attorney said.
RIP Ella Adler. Absolutely heartbreaking. 💔💔
As a South Florida diver and father that has nearly been run over hundreds of times, with a dive flag, this is especially painful. It is manslaughter at the very least and deserves 10 years in prison minimum. pic.twitter.com/nww8MXRoue
— PhotographicFloridian (@JackLinFLL) May 14, 2024
“Had Bill thought he hit anything, he absolutely would have stopped. But he did not at any point think that he had hit anything, let alone a person. He docked his boat in plain sight right behind his house and did not even know there was an accident on the water that day until officers showed up at his door,” the lawyer said, adding that Alonso does not drink and had not been drinking Saturday when the incident took place.
RIP Ella Adler. Absolutely heartbreaking. 💔💔
As a South Florida diver and father that has nearly been run over hundreds of times, with a dive flag, this is especially painful. It is manslaughter at the very least and deserves 10 years in prison minimum. pic.twitter.com/nww8MXRoue
— PhotographicFloridian (@JackLinFLL) May 14, 2024
Ella’s father, Matthew Adler, penned a letter to his late daughter that was read at her funeral, according to the New York Post.
“You were taken from us way too soon, and the world has been robbed of all the things you could have achieved,” the letter said.
“But you will always be here with us and your friends and family will carry your energy and spirit forever."
During her funeral, Rabbi Jonathan Berkun asked those attending to recall the teen for how she lived.
“We must remember her as she would have wanted to be remembered, as a star, a force of nature, a glowing and gorgeous young woman who was loved, admired, cherished and adored by more people than anyone her age would normally be,” he said.
