Manuel Hernandez Charged After Bayline Speedboat Capsizes Near Liberty Island, Killing Mother and Baby

A boat capsized near Liberty Island in New York Harbor on Saturday night, killing a 27-year-old mother and her 5-month-old daughter, according to New York officials.

“A 5-month-old girl and a 27-year-old mother from Queens died after a boat overturned off Liberty Island”

ABC7 New York

ABC7 New York reported that the operator was arrested after the vessel overturned at about 10:20 p.m., and that 12 other people were rescued from the water.

ABC7 Los Angeles

NBC New York said the captain, Manuel Hernandez, 46, was at the helm of a 22-foot Bayline speedboat that flipped over around 10:25 p.m. Saturday near Liberty Island, and that only Sara Sanchez, 27, and her baby daughter Antonella Garcia died.

The Coast Guard said the two passengers who were killed were a mother and child, while police said it was not immediately clear whether the two were related, and the survivors were taken to hospitals with minor injuries.

Federal prosecutors took over the case against Hernandez after the capsizing, as authorities investigated what caused the boat to overturn near the Statue of Liberty, CNN reported.

CNN said Hernandez initially faced 13 counts of reckless endangerment filed by local police, but that his case was transferred to federal investigators, and federal charges had not been announced.

ABC7 New York

ABC7 New York said Hernandez was arrested and charged with 13 counts of reckless endangerment, and it also reported investigators were looking into whether the trip may have been operating as an illegal charter.

The Coast Guard said it was conducting an active marine casualty investigation with the Coast Guard Investigative Service and the NYPD, and CNN quoted Capt. Doreen McCarthy saying, "We are committed to holding illegal operators accountable to (the) highest extent of the law to ensure the safety of everyone on our waterways."

Investigators were examining whether the boat was over capacity and whether the captain was running an illegal charter without required credentials and safety equipment, CNN reported.

“Investigators believe the boat likely was over capacity”

CNN

NBC New York said authorities were looking into potential overcrowding issues on the boat, as well as whether it may have been an illegal charter, and it described the Coast Guard definition of an illegal charter as a passenger-for-hire operation that lacks Coast Guard credentials, safety equipment and inspection certificates.

ABC7 New York reported that the husband and father who survived was supported by his employer, who started a fundraiser, and it said the couple also has a six-year-old son who was with a sitter on Saturday night when the incident happened.

NBC New York added that Andres Garcia survived and that his community was embracing him after his loss, with Il Punto restaurant hosting a crowdfunding campaign to support the family.