Public Safety and Boating Accidents

Carlos Guillermo "Bill" Alonso, accused of fatally striking 15-year-old wakeboarder and ballerina Ella Adler with his 42-foot Boston Whaler off Key Biscayne in 2024 and failing to stop, has pleaded guilty in a Florida court to misdemeanor careless boating and received a year of probation under a plea deal. According to prosecutors and court statements reported this week, Alonso can seek to terminate probation after six months and, if he complies with all conditions, later ask the court to vacate his guilty plea, while the captain of the tow boat, Edmund Richard Hartley, faces separate charges and has pleaded not guilty.