The Florida boater accused of piloting the vessel which killed 15-year-old ballerina Ella Adler lives in a multimillion dollar waterfront mansion on a private lake with its own boat dock.
Carlos Guillermo Alonso, 78, of Coral Gables, is registered as the president of Technical Systems & Equipment Corp, a leading air conditioning installation company in Miami-Dade county, according to the company’s website. His wife Magaly Alonso is listed as the Vice President.
The couple share several children and grandchildren, and a sprawling mansion valued at $3.5 to $4 million in the exclusive Hammock Oaks, a luxury gated community that boasts private lakes and schools.
Alonso’s four bedroom, four bathroom property with a swimming pool also has its own boat dock, for his 42-foot-long Boston Whaler boat.
He is now suspected of fatally running over Adler in the same boat in nearby Biscayne Bay last Saturday then leaving the scene without stopping, according to an incident report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
The FWC’s report lists Alonso, who is cooperating with the investigation, as the sole occupant of the boat which slammed against Adler while she was with friends celebrating a birthday.
“[Ms Adler] was wakeboarding when she fell in the water while being towed. Ms. Adler was struck by another vessel and died from her injuries,” a statement provided by the FWC to The Post read.
“The vessel that struck Ms. Adler did not stop.”
The full circumstances of the position of Adler in the water and the two vessels has yet to be revealed.
According to FWC, it is unlawful for any person operating a vessel involved in a boating accident to leave the scene without giving all possible aid to the involved persons and without reporting the accident to the proper authorities.
Earlier, Alonso’s attorney, Lauren Field Krasnoff, said her client “had absolutely no idea” his boat was allegedly involved in the hit-and-run crash until police turned up at his home to question him about the incident.
“If he was the person that was involved in this accident, and I want to be clear, we don’t know that yet. If he was he had absolutely no idea of his involvement,” she said.
“When the police came knocking, he did not know why. We’re not sure if he was involved. But if he was he absolutely did not know what had happened.
“He docked his boat in plain sight. And most importantly, he’s been cooperative with law enforcement and with anybody that has a need to need it to investigate what happened on the water that day.”
Krasnoff said nothing seemed off to her client on the day of the incident, with Alonso, a boater of more than 50 years, docking “his boat in plain sight” and going about his day as usual.
Boating licenses are not required in Florida. And only people born on or after Jan 1, 1988 must have a Boating Safety Education Identification Card to legally operate a boat in the state, according to FWC.
The Post has reached out to Alonso and his lawyers for comment.
Alonso, a Cuba native who arrived in the US under Operation Peter Pan, which ran from 1960 to 1962, has no criminal record and does not drink alcohol, his attorney said.
“He’s a good man, and he is devastated by what has happened. We’re going to keep that statement. That will be the end of the statement for now. The investigation is ongoing. And Bill will continue to cooperate with law enforcement,” Krasnoff told reporters.
A FWC spokesperson told The Post Alonso’s boat has been transported to an FWC evidence compound.
No charges have been filed against Alonso at this point as the investigation is ongoing.
Adler was retrieved by the boat she had been wakeboarding from and her friends on board called for help, but she could not be saved.
“You were taken from us way too soon, and the world has been robbed of all the things you could have achieved,” grieving father Matthew Adler wrote in an emotional letter that was read at the dancer’s packed funeral on Monday.
“But you will always be here with us and your friends and family will carry your energy and spirit forever.”