Security camera footage shows the man who police say was operating the boat that hit and killed Ransom Everglades freshman Ella Riley Adler in Biscayne Bay last week calmly leaving and then arriving back at the dock behind his Coral Gables home on that afternoon.
The footage from the camera, which was pointed at the dock behind the Coral Gables home, was released Friday night by the attorney representing the boat owner, 78-year-old Carlos “Bill” Alonso, who says her client was completely unaware he may have hit anyone last Saturday afternoon.
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Adler and another teen were wake boarding behind a 42-foot boat near Nixon Beach off Key Biscayne when she was struck and killed by another boat, which did not stop.
They were with a group of several other teens and three adults.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the agency leading the investigation, found a boat that matched the description of the one that hit Adler on Tuesday behind Alonso’s Hammock Oaks home.
Alonso’s lawyer, Lauren Krasnoff, said Friday that the two videos she released show her client looking composed as he left his dock at 3:09 p.m. and returned at 4:27 p.m., demonstrating he did not know he was involved in the chaos that occurred at sea that afternoon.
“This was an unthinkable tragedy and our hearts break for Ella and her family. We hope this video helps to shut down some of the awful and unfounded rumors going around about Bill, who is absolutely devastated,” Krasnoff said in a statement.
“As the video shows, Bill was alone. He was not drinking. And he had no clue that he may have hit someone — he parked the boat at his home, he was calm, he didn’t clean the boat, and he did not try to hide anything,” Krasnoff said. “Bill will continue to cooperate with law enforcement in every possible way.”
The FWC, which has impounded Alonso’s 42-foot, four-engine Boston Whaler, has not arrested or charged anyone in the incident.
The Miami Herald has been unable to find contact information for Richard Edmund, the man the FWC says was at the helm of the Hanse Fjord vessel the teens were on that day.
The high-profile case has made international headlines. Ella Adler was the granddaughter of Michael Adler, the U.S. ambassador to Belgium. Michael Adler was formerly president of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and vice chair of the Florida International University Board of Trustees.
A funeral was held for her Monday at Temple Beth Sholom on Miami Beach. On Tuesday, First Lady Jill Biden met with the Adler Family.
READ MORE: ‘The world has been robbed.’ Family mourns girl killed in boat crash near Key Biscayne
Although the boat that the FWC says was likely involved in Adler’s death is in the agency’s possession, its investigation continues.
FWC investigators are asking anyone who witnessed the accident or anyone who may have video footage or information to call the Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922). The investigation is ongoing.
Source Agencies
