Ella Adler joins a group of twelve for wakeboarding on Biscayne Bay over Mother’s Day weekend. 

The girls take turns on two wakeboards towed behind the boat.  Ella ends up in the water. Still wearing a life vest, she makes it back over to the board and clings to it as she’s towed back to the yacht. While Ella’s still in the water, another boat gets dangerously close and shows no sign of stopping.

Moments later, the boat strikes Ella, forcing her underneath. When Ella floats back up to the surface, she’s limp and there’s blood in the water. Ella dies before anyone can get her to shore.  

The boat that hit Ella never slowed down, despite a legal requirement to stop, call law enforcement, and give aid. Maritime lawyers have contested claims the boat operator may not have realized they hit someone, saying anyone aboard would have felt the hit. A witness saw a fishing boat pass the gray yacht, and heard screams and distress calls over the yacht’s radio.

They describe the boat as a light blue center console with dark blue bottom paint and three to four outboard engines.  

JOINING NANCY TODAY

• Daniel Grammes - Maritime Lawyer / Attorney at Lipcon Margulies & Winkleman;  Insta: @dgram01
• Phil Odom – Boating Accident Reconstructionist, Owner of H2O Investigations, and Former Law Enforcement; Facebook: H20 Investigations
• Dr. Kendall Crowns – Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth) and Lecturer: University of Texas Austin and Texas Christian University Medical School
• Dr. Michelle DuPre – Former Forensic Pathologist, Medical Examiner and Detective: Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, Author: “Homicide Investigation Field Guide” & “Investigating Child Abuse Field Guide;” Forensic Consultant
• Sydney Sumner - CrimeOnline Investigative Reporter