Tugboat captain sentenced to 18 months in prison for Biscayne Bay crash that killed 3 girls

The tugboat captain who in 2025 was steering the barge that crashed into a sailboat on Biscayne Bay near Miami Beach, killing three girls, was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Tuesday afternoon.U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Becerra's sentence exceeded the 12-month prison term recommended under a plea agreement reached last July between prosecution and defense attorneys. Becerra stated that Yusiel Lopez Insua's actions on the day of the crash were too egregious to justify a lighter sentence."Yusiel respects and accepts the 18-month sentence imposed today," defense attorney Walter Reynoso said.Investigators said that several errors led to the deadly crash on July 28, 2025. Evidence presented showed that Lopez Insua's view was obstructed by a deckhouse and that he failed to post a lookout. The judge likened his conduct to driving a Mack truck down Interstate 95 unable to see ahead while expecting everyone else to get out of the way.The tugboat captain, Yusiel Lopez Insua, pleaded guil