Two Florida Men Charged After 15-Year-Old Ella Adler Killed by Boat in Hit-and-Run

Two Florida Men Charged After 15 Year Old Ella Adler Killed By Boat In Hit And Run

A day on the water turned into heartbreak—and now, two men are facing serious charges.

Fifteen-year-old Ella Adler, a talented ballerina from Miami, was killed in May after she was struck by a boat while wakeboarding off the coast of Key Biscayne. The boat didn’t stop. Now, authorities say they’ve found the people responsible.

According to People, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has arrested Carlos Guillermo Alfonzo, 78, who was allegedly operating the vessel that hit Ella. He’s charged with leaving the scene of a boating accident involving death, which is a first-degree felony.

Also charged is 76-year-old Sergio Llorente. Officials say he tried to cover things up. Llorente is accused of tampering with evidence and helping Alfonzo avoid investigators.

Alfonzo allegedly never stopped to help Ella after the collision, which happened near Nixon Beach. Instead, the men reportedly took the boat out of the water, changed the registration numbers, and cleaned it to hide damage, according to the FWC’s official statement quoted by People.

Ella, a student at Ransom Everglades School, had just let go of the rope while wakeboarding and was waiting in the water when she was hit. The impact was deadly.

“This senseless tragedy has rocked our entire community,” Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a public statement via People. “And the actions taken afterward made it worse.”

Investigators say the men made no attempt to call 911. Surveillance footage, physical evidence, and boat shop records eventually led to their arrests.

Llorente allegedly bought a new GPS system for the boat shortly after the incident and even paid a marine technician to scrub tracking data, according to court documents.

If convicted, Alfonzo could face up to 30 years in prison.

The loss of Ella—a promising dancer who once performed with the Miami City Ballet—is being deeply felt across South Florida.

As Rundle put it, “Ella deserved so much more than this.”