Friend captures last moments with Miami boat crash victims before tragedy – NBC 6 South Florida

A man who was with the victims of a deadly boat wreck near Port Miami all night before the tragedy said he could have easily been on that boat.

In a phone interview Monday with NBC6, Russ Ramirez said he was partying on a yacht all night with 27-year-old Cristian Fernandez from Cutler Bay and 29-year-old Angel Dominguez from Hialeah.

“I was just with them,” he said. “… I ran into Cris and Angel just by coincidence … We were all having a good time and the vibe was good.”

The great vibe turned tragic a few hours later, just before 4 a.m. Sunday after the yacht party was over.

Investigators say Fernandez and Dominguez got on a 32-foot boat when it crashed into the Fisher Island Ferry near Port Miami.

When rescuers got there, they found Dominguez alive but no Fernandez — dive teams combed the waters and found his body minutes later.

Ramirez says he got the bad news later that morning but didn’t believe it.

“I could have easily been with them on that boat if I would have decided to go with them,” he said.

Before the pair got on the boat, Ramirez said he decided to snap a photo to capture the moment. But he had no idea it would be the last memory he’d have of Fernandez.

“You just gotta take in every moment, every second,” he said. “We’re here one minute and gone the next.”

The crash shut down Port Miami. Many passengers spent hours waiting to either disembark or board their cruise ships.

Dominguez is still recovering at Jackson Memorial Hospital. His family said he and Fernandez had been friends for years.