Feds charge unlicensed boat captain after a mother, baby were killed in New York Harbor capsizing

By Mark Morales, Hanna Park, Martin Goillandeau, Gloria Pazmino, Danya Gainor, CNN

(CNN) — Saturday evening’s favorable summer weather drew a steady stream of commercial ferries and private boats into a crowded New York Harbor, where passengers leaned over rails, straining for a clear glimpse of the city’s torch-bearing icon, the Statue of Liberty. Below them, the harbor caught the day’s final rays of sunlight alongside the emerging lights of the Manhattan skyline.

But as the night grew dark, one serene weekend cruise turned deadly when a crowded private vessel suddenly capsized, sending all 14 onboard into the blackening water.

A fleet of emergency vessels rushed to the open waters between Lady Liberty and the Brooklyn shore. Twelve people were pulled from the harbor, but for a young mother and her infant daughter, help came too late.

Sara Sanchez, 27, and her 5-month-old, Antonella Garcia, both of Queens, were taken to the hospital in critical condition, where they were later pronounced dead, police said. The remaining survivors are in stable condition.

Now, Manuel Hernandez, the pilot of the doomed vessel, faces two federal counts of misconduct or neglect of a ship officer resulting in death. The 46-year-old captain did not enter a plea during an initial appearance in federal court on Monday.

CNN has reached out to his attorney, Amy Gallicchio, for comment.

What the complaint alleges

Hernandez was transporting paying customers on a tour around the harbor aboard a commercial vessel before the passengers’ drowning deaths, prosecutors said in court documents.

The captain had been piloting the boat without proper licenses, according to the complaint filed in the Southern District of New York, and his vessel, a Yamaha AR210, was over capacity when it capsized.

More than three hours into the tour, heading toward the Statue of Liberty, Hernandez piloted the boat into a swell and had accelerated the throttle to try to pass through it until the swell swamped the bow of the boat, capsizing it immediately, the complaint alleges.

There were no infant life vests onboard, prosecutors said.

Other commercial vessels and boats operated by the New York Police Department, the US Coast Guard and the New York City Fire Department rendered emergency assistance, the complaint says.

Twelve of those aboard were pulled from the water before police arrived; all but one were saved by the crew of the first boat on the scene – a small tour vessel outfitted with two full-size hot tubs, said Adam Schwartz, owner of the tour company Sea the City.

Hernandez and 11 of his passengers were recovered in varying medical conditions and survived, the complaint says. The young mother and her baby were recovered, unresponsive, and both received CPR before they were pronounced dead in a Brooklyn hospital.

The baby’s father, Andres Garcia, survived the boat disaster, a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told CNN.

“He’s been the hardest working person I’ve ever met in my life,” said Antonio Russo, general manager of Il Punto Ristorante in Manhattan, where Garcia has worked for five years and recently was promoted to waiter.

“Nobody deserves such a thing but especially Andres,” Russo said.

The couple’s 6-year-old son had been with a sitter, Russo said. The boat ride was part of a birthday celebration, a law enforcement official told CNN.

“My thoughts are with the family and their loved ones as they grieve this devastating loss, and I know many New Yorkers feel exactly the same way,” New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Monday.

Neighbors of the family are heartbroken, they told WABC: “I’m in shock,” Diego Naranjo said. “For the family, sending condolences to the family. May they rest in peace in heaven.”

“We really care about the future of Andres’ life and his son,” Russo told CNN. “What happened is a tragedy, and no money can actually alleviate the pain.”

Authorities ultimately lifted the vessel out of the water by crane, prosecutors said. Hernandez was arrested Sunday morning.

No plea after initial court appearance

Hernandez was released Monday on a $50,000 personal recognizance bond. As a condition of his release, he cannot operate any boats or vessels, he must surrender all travel documents and he is to have no contact with the passengers or anyone associated with or employed by the operator.

The captain is due in court for a preliminary hearing on September 9.

Authorities are investigating whether the captain was running an illegal charter without required credentials and safety equipment, the Coast Guard said.

“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,” US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jamie McDonald said in a statement.

Hernandez faced 13 counts of reckless endangerment filed by local police before federal prosecutors took over the case.

Federal rules generally require more credentials and inspections for boats carrying more than six passengers for hire. In 2022, the owner and captain of a chartered boat that flipped in the Hudson River off Manhattan, killing a 7-year-old and an adult, pleaded guilty to a federal charge of misconduct and neglect of a ship officer resulting in death after prosecutors said he ran paid tours without the required Coast Guard credentials.

What investigators are examining

The boat Garcia, his wife and baby were in was a 22-foot bowrider, a common recreational powerboat, WABC reported. It was still floating, overturned with its hull exposed, Sunday as NYPD officers coordinated recovery efforts, video shared with CNN showed.

A floating crane lifted it, then lowered it bow-first onto the deck of an Army Corps of Engineers vessel as tourists watched from the nearby Staten Island Ferry.

The US District Court for the Southern District of New York is handling the case, according to the NYPD. The US Coast Guard is running its inquiry with the Coast Guard Investigative Service and the NYPD. CNN has asked authorities for more information.

“We are committed to holding illegal operators accountable to (the) highest extent of the law to ensure the safety of everyone on our waterways,” said Capt. Doreen McCarthy, the Coast Guard’s Sector New York commander.

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CNN’s Chris Boyette, Maria Aguilar Prieto, Jeff Winter and Andy Rose contributed to this report.