A Miami man who allegedly left the scene of a boat crash in Biscayne Bay that left another person seriously injured last month has been arrested, records showed.
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Juan Carlos Romero, 42, was arrested Thursday on charges including leaving the scene of a boat crash causing serious bodily injury, reckless boating with serious bodily injury and tampering with physical evidence, Miami-Dade jail records showed.
The crash happened around 2:45 a.m. on Aug. 16 in Biscayne Bay south of the Julia Tuttle Causeway.
According to an arrest warrant, Romero was operating a 36-foot boat when he was involved in a collision with a 26-foot boat.
Using video, witness statements and the damage, investigators determined the larger boat had overtaken the smaller boat from behind at a high rate of speed before it ended up “partially ramping over” the smaller boat, the warrant said.
After the collision, authorities said Romero left the scene, and people who were on the other boat recorded video of his boat leaving, the warrant said.
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The victim, who was on the smaller boat, was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where he underwent surgery for injuries including a lacerated spleen, loss of blood, injury to his pancreas, stomach injuries, fractured ribs, bruising of lungs, and spinal fractures.
The 36-foot boat was later found docked behind a home in Miami with significant damage with its right engines covered with trash bags and cut tape, the warrant said.
Romero was identified as the person who rents the dock space, and a person who’d been on his boat confirmed she’d been on board with Romero and his wife, the warrant said.
The woman said they’d gone back to check on the occupants of the smaller boat but said they left because people on the other boat were yelling at them, the warrant said.
Romero was booked into jail and on Friday appeared in bond court, where his attorney argued for a lower bond, saying he was ready to cooperate with authorities and surrender when he was arrested, and wasn’t a flight risk.
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The judge said the charges warranted the bond of $30,000.