Boat captain charged with negligence after New York Harbor capsizing kills mother and infant
A New Jersey man who piloted an overcrowded tour boat without a required license has been charged with two counts of misconduct and neglect of a ship officer, after a capsizing in New York Harbor killed a mother and her 5-month-old daughter.
Federal prosecutors said Manuel Hernandez, 46, operated a 22-foot Yamaha bowrider in New York Harbor on Saturday night without the mandatory Merchant Mariner Credential and exceeded the vessel’s 10-person capacity by carrying 14 passengers. The boat, hired through a tour company, capsized near the Statue of Liberty at about 10:30 p.m., throwing all aboard into the water. Two of the 14 passengers, 27-year-old Sara Sanchez and her 5-month-old daughter Antonella Garcia, drowned; the remaining twelve survived.
Hernandez was indicted on Monday in federal court on two counts of misconduct and neglect of a ship officer resulting in death, each carrying a maximum ten-year sentence. He was released on a $50,000 bond and barred from leaving New York or New Jersey and from contacting the victims or the tour operator.
"Federal regulations and maritime safety protocols exist to protect the lives and wellbeing of passengers on commercial vessels," U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said, adding that the defendant allegedly flouted those rules by operating without a license, overcrowding the boat and failing to provide an infant life vest.
"This tragedy could have been prevented, and now a family is left to grieve the unimaginable loss of a mother and her five-month-old daughter because of his negligence," NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said.
Local authorities had initially filed more than a dozen reckless endangerment charges before the case was transferred to federal jurisdiction. Hernandez’s attorney was unavailable for comment.