Arielle Buchman (left); and Mila Yankelevich.Credit : Levitt Funerals; Cris Morena/Facebook

NEED TO KNOW

Yusiel Insua was operating a barge on July 28, 2025 when it smashed into a small sailboat carrying five children and an adult
A months-long investigation has revealed what could’ve caused him to miss seeing the boat at the time
Insua faces seaman’s manslaughter charges and up to 10 years in prison if convicted

A Florida man has been charged months after three young girls drowned when a barge he was operating crashed into their sailboat.

Yusiel Lopez Insua, 46, was charged with seaman’s manslaughter this week in connection with the fatal collision on the Biscayne Bay, a Florida lagoon, in July 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of Florida announced in a statement.

Mila Yankelevich, 7, Arielle Buchman, 10, and Erin Victoria Ko, 13, died as a result of the collision; they were on a sailboat for a children’s sailing camp with two other children and one counselor, who survived, according to the statement.

On July 28, Insua was operating a tugboat pushing a barge loaded with construction debris with a deckhouse and crane obstructing the vessel’s front view, per the statement.

Meanwhile, the children’s sailboat had stalled after losing wind, and was on the path of the barge. Insua allegedly failed to see it because of the obstruction and because there was no assigned person for a lookout should something like this happen.

In a criminal complaint obtained by PEOPLE, authorities have detailed the moments leading up to the crash and what happened soon afterwards.

Investigators learned, upon reviewing his cellphone data, that Insua was engaged in online marketplace activity right before — and during — the collision.

The complaint alleges “Insua ran over, capsized, and crushed” the children’s boat, “submerging it and pinning it under the barge’s hull.”

Miami boating collision in July 2025.U.S. Coast Guard Southeast/Facebook

“Our hearts are with the families of the children who lost their lives in this tragedy,” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said in the statement announcing the charges.

“This information alleges a preventable loss of life on our waterways, including the failure to follow basic maritime safety rules and cellphone use during transit at or near the time of the collision,” he said.

The three survivors had been trapped in a vessel underneath the barge, while Mila, Arielle and Erin subsequently drowned.

“Erin left a mark that’s indelible. It’s indelible,” Erin’s teacher told CBS following her death. “While she was here, she was a light for us, for our school.”

Mila was identified as the granddaughter of renown Argentinian film producers Gustavo Yankelevich and Cris Morena; Arielle was the cousin of former Bal Harbour, Fla. mayor Gabriel Groisman.

Insua faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Online court records do not show if he has been arraigned.

PEOPLE has reached out to his attorney for comment.