Investigators have identified a suspect in the boating hit-and-run that killed a 15-year-old girl in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Ella Riley Adler was struck and killed by a boat while wakeboarding in the area, as per WSVN. She was not wakeboarding when she was hit, according to Local10.com; she reportedly fell in the water while being towed.
A boater who was going by at the time hit her and didn't stop to help. The boater has been identified as Carlos Guillermo Alonso, 78, of Coral Gables, Florida. FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto told WSVN that there are still "a lot of unanswered questions."
For example, it's not clear if Alonso knew that he hit the 15-year-old, Barreto said. Alonso's attorney, Lauren Krasnoff, echoed this claim in a statement, as per Local10.com.
"He has no knowledge whatsoever of having been involved in this accident," Krasnoff said in the statement. "If he hit Ella that day, he certainly did not know it."
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The attorney also stated that Alonso hasn't made a statement because the investigation is ongoing and he is cooperating with the investigation.
Krasnoff said that Alonso "has been boating for 50 years and is a very experienced boater who knows these waters." He definitely would've stopped if he had suspected that he hit something or someone, she claimed.
She described Alonso as "a good man" and noted that "he is absolutely devastated by the loss of this intelligent, accomplished, and beautiful young woman," reported Local10.com.
Ella Riley Adler was a student at Ransom Everglades School. She was also a ballet dancer. Ransom Everglades Head of School Rachel Rodriguez said in a statement shared with NBC6 that Adler "shined in our classrooms and on our stages, and she embodied the mission of Ransom Everglades School."
The Miami City Ballet shared a statement, as per NBC6, calling Adler "a beloved student and a magnificent dancer who graced our stage in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker."
"She was an integral part of our family, radiating potential and promise whose kindness, warmth, and infectious joy were known to all," the Miami City Ballet said in the statement.
Adler's grandfather is the US Ambassador to Belgium, Michael Adler. FWC officials said that, so far, Alonso has not been charged, and he is cooperating.
