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By Billal Rahman and Khaleda Rahman
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A 46-year-old man has been arrested and charged with 13 counts of reckless endangerment after a boat overturned near the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor late Saturday night, killing a 27-year-old woman and her five-month-old daughter.
A New York City Police Department (NYPD) spokesperson told Newsweek that Manuel Hernandez was arrested at 2:27 a.m. Sunday in connection with the boat, a 22-foot Bayliner, capsizing. The police later confirmed that Hernandez was the boat's captain.
After the state charges were lodged against Hernandez over the weekend, prosecutors said Monday that he will be tried in federal court instead. He was transferred to federal custody on Sunday.
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Hernandez who lives in Manville, New Jersey, was not required to enter a plea and was released on $50,000 bail on Monday. As he left the hearing, his court-appointed attorney, Amy Gallicchio, guided him to a waiting vehicle where both declined to comment, the Associated Press reported.
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Rescue Operations and Emergency Response
Twelve people were rescued after the incident, which happened at about 10:25 p.m. The woman and infant were later found in the water by police divers and were taken to a hospital where they were pronounced deceased, the NYPD said.
The woman was later identified as Queens resident Sara Sanchez and her daughter was identified as Antonella Garcia, according to police, NBC News and the New York Post.
Meanwhile, the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) told Newsweek that the mother and daughter were transported to NYU Langone Health Brooklyn while 12 people with minor injuries were taken to area hospitals.
Fox News reported that the two victims were found by the divers after the other passengers had already been rescued from the water.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life last night, and our thoughts are with the victims’ family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time,” Captain Doreen McCarthy, the Coast Guard Sector New York commander, said in a statement. “We are extremely grateful for the heroic, swift actions of our partner agencies and Good Samaritan vessel who assisted in rescuing survivors from the water.”
The NYPD’s Harbor Unit, Scuba Team and Aviation Unit responded to the scene, along with the U.S. Coast Guard. Newsweek has contacted the U.S. Coast Guard for comment.
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Eyewitness Accounts and Survivor Assistance
The Post reported that some survivors and relatives were seen at the hospital following the incident, with some still wearing life jackets.
Adam Schwartz said his sightseeing company's hot tub boat, Sea the City II, was out on a cruise when the accident occurred and took the 12 survivors onboard.
“Our captain and both crew members immediately assisted, called in to the Coast Guard and ... then coordinated with the Coast Guard and NYPD Harbor units to bring them to land in Brooklyn,” he told The Associated Press on Sunday.
What Prosecutors Have Said
In a criminal complaint, federal prosecutors brought two charges alleging that Hernandez, as the boat's pilot and operator, engaged in negligent actions and omissions that caused the capsizing and deaths in a boat that exceeded its maximum capacity of 10 people, with 14 on board.
They said he also knowingly operated the boat with an infant on board without ensuring that the child was wearing a life vest and with the awareness that the boat didn't have any child- or infant-sized life vests.
The boat tour was more than three hours into its journey when Hernandez was piloting the boat toward the Statue of Liberty and made a U-turn that brought it into a swell, possibly caused by a larger passing vessel's wake, according to the complaint.
Hernandez tried to accelerate to pass through the swell, but it swamped the bow of his boat and immediately capsized it, prosecutors wrote.
Hernandez told investigators that he had worked for the company on a freelance or contract basis since last year, starting as a limousine driver, they wrote. He stated that twice recently used his personal boat, a slightly larger Yamaha AR250, for charter tours organized by Zeus Luxury Rentals Inc., according to the complaint.
He said that on Saturday, he used a friend’s boat because his own needed repairs, but he didn't tell the friend that he was using it for a charter tour, prosecutors wrote.
Hernandez admitted to investigators that he had never sought the required licensing and claimed he was unaware it was needed, they wrote.
New York Boating Safety Regulations and Ongoing Investigation
In a news release, U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said Hernandez flouted federal regulations and maritime safety protocols when he transported paying customers on a commercial boat without appropriate licenses.
“We mourn the tragic drowning deaths of the infant and her mother and urge would-be tour operators and the public to observe all safety protocols for commercial vessels,” he said.
New York State law requires operators of motorized vessels to complete a state-approved boating safety course and generally requires motorized boats to be registered. State and federal rules also require recreational vessels to carry appropriate safety equipment, including U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets.
New York requires children under 12 to wear an approved life jacket aboard vessels under 65 feet, unless they are inside a fully enclosed cabin. Other requirements, including those covering throwable flotation devices, fire extinguishers, navigation lights, distress signals and engine cut-off devices, vary according to the vessel, and how and where it is being operated.
Additional federal requirements can apply in New York Harbor.
After the vessel was pulled from the water, it was taken to the NYPD's harbor unit facility on Randall’s Island.
McCarthy said Coast Guard investigators are working with police to review what happened.
GoFundMe Set Up to Help Family
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Sara Sanchez’s family.
Donations will go towards helping her partner Andres Garcia, who survived the incident on Saturday night, pay for funeral costs and care for their six-year-old son.
Garcia “was also on the boat that night,” according to a post on the page, which was set up by his friends and colleagues.
“While trying to process the unimaginable loss of Sara and baby Antonella, Andres must now find the strength to move forward and be there for their 6-year-old son, Salvador, who has also suffered a heartbreaking loss.”
The post added: "No amount of money can replace Sara or Antonella. But together, we can give Andres some breathing room to grieve, take care of their son, Salvador, and begin facing a future that changed in an instant.”
Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Matthew Robinson, Robert Greenall and Anthony Murray.
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