Devastated families and a heartbroken community are in mourning after a boat crash in Biscayne Bay claimed the life of three girls, and as investigators attempt to piece together what led to the crash, the attorney for one of the victims said this tragedy “could have and should have” been avoided.
Cellphone video captured Arielle Buchman performing a dance routine alongside other dancers.
On Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed the 10-year-old succumbed to her injuries in the hospital.
Loved ones remember Buchman as a young, bright and dancing spirit.
Her family and friends gathered at Temple Menorah in Miami Beach on Sunday to say goodbye.
Buchman became the third victim to lose her life after the sailboat she was on collided with a barge near Hibiscus Island, July 28.
The two other deceased victims were identified as 7-year-old Mila Yankelevich of Argentina and 13-year-old Erin Ko, a Chilean national who had recently moved to the United States, officials said.
“I’ve seen the family at all their celebrations. I married Ari’s parents, Todd and Rhonda. I named her,” said Rabbi Eliot Pearlson of Temple Menorah.
Pearlson said he has been guiding Buchman’s family through their lives and now their grief.
“We all knew her, we all loved her, we were all part of her, of her growing up,” he said.
In total, six people — five girls and a 19-year old camp counselor — were on board the sailboat at the time of the crash. Yankelevich and Ko’s deaths were ruled accidental drownings.
One of the passengers, 7-year-old Kalina Gruber, was trapped under the barge, according to her family attorney, Justin Shapiro, who spoke with 7News on Monday.
“She was lacerated all over her body, from head to toe, open lacerations. She nearly drowned to death, and she is profoundly traumatized,” he said.
Gruber was the only one of the four girls rushed to the hospital to have survived.
“There is a lot of fault to go around here,” said Shapiro. “I think the operators of both vessels could have and should have avoided this collision.”
When asked whether all of the children on the sailboat wearing life vests, Shapiro replied, “My understanding is that all of the children were wearing life vests at the time of the incident. I can tell you that our client, Kalina, was.”
The girls were part of a summer sailing program at the Miami Yacht Club. On Sunday, a spokesperson for the club released a statement that reads in part:
“This is a tragedy that has touched not only the sailing community but everyone who cherishes our Bay and the young lives who brought such joy to it.”
The toxicology reports for the operators of the barge, the sailboat and a nearby tugboat have all come back negative. Now investigators are working to pinpoint exactly what went wrong.
Gruber has since been released from the hospital. She is at home recovering with her family.