Key facts
- A boat carrying 14 passengers capsized in New York Harbor on Saturday night.
- Sara Sanchez, 27, and her 5-month-old daughter, Antonella Garcia, died in the incident.
- Captain Manuel Hernandez, 46, was not licensed to operate the vessel and allegedly overloaded it.
- Hernandez was hired as a limo driver and ran illegal charter operations.
- The boat was struck by a swell while making a U-turn near Liberty Island.
- Hernandez faces charges including operating a boat resulting in death and reckless endangerment.
The captain of a motorboat that capsized in New York Harbor, killing a mother and her infant daughter, was not licensed to operate the vessel and was allegedly running an illegal charter operation, according to federal prosecutors. Manuel Hernandez, 46, faces charges including two counts of operating a boat resulting in death and 13 counts of reckless endangerment.
Sara Sanchez, 27, and her 5-month-old daughter, Antonella Garcia, drowned shortly before 10:30 p.m. on Saturday when the 21-foot boat, overloaded with 14 passengers, was struck by a swell near Liberty Island and capsized. Survivors clung to the overturned vessel until help arrived.
Prosecutors stated that Hernandez admitted to running boat charters since 2025 without applying for a license or US Coast Guard certification. He was allegedly hired as a limo driver but periodically ran $1,000 boat trips. The tour operator, "Zeus Luxury," advertises four-hour tours for $1,200 with a maximum capacity of 12 passengers, though prosecutors said the capsized boat had a 10-person capacity.
Federal regulations require watercraft carrying at least six passengers, including at least one paying passenger, to have Coast Guard certification and documented piloting experience. The borrowed boat was reportedly not equipped with infant life jackets, and Hernandez allegedly told the parents one of them would have to wear one and hold the baby. Hernandez was released on a $50,000 bond and ordered not to operate any nautical vessels.