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The captain of an allegedly unlicensed boat that capsized in New York Harbor near Liberty Island over the weekend, killing a young woman and her baby, has been charged in their deaths.
Manuel Hernandez, 46, was charged Monday with two counts of misconduct and neglect of a ship officer resulting in death, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Hernandez, of Manville, New Jersey, appeared in court Monday, where he was not required to enter a plea and was released on $50,000 bail, NBC New York reported. He left with his court-appointed attorney, Amy Gallicchio, and both declined to comment, the station reported.
Gallicchio did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
Queens resident Sara Sanchez, 27, and her 5-month-old daughter, Antonella Garcia, died in the tragedy Saturday evening.
Hernandez was piloting a Yamaha AR210 jet vessel Saturday night — but he had not registered it, did not have the certification to operate it in the harbor with paying customers and did not have infant-sized flotation devices on board, according to the complaint.
Furthermore, he had 14 people on board, including himself — exceeding the vessel’s maximum capacity of 10 people, the complaint alleges.
The accident
Hernandez operated the vessel while he was working for a tour operations company, which branded itself as a luxury limousine and rental yacht provider.
Saturday’s tour was for 13 passengers for a trip around the harbor near the Statue of Liberty, arranged through the tour operator for $1,800, the complaint said.
Hernandez is alleged to have told law enforcement officers in a post-arrest interview that he had periodically worked for the operator since 2025 and had piloted two similar tours on his personal boat, a Yamaha AR250 — which is similar to but larger than the vessel used in Saturday’s accident.
The night of Saturday’s tour, he used a friend’s boat, as his personal one needed mechanical repairs, but he did not inform the owner he was using it for a tour with paying customers, prosecutors allege in the complaint.
Hernandez told authorities he was unaware of the maximum capacity for the boat he was driving Saturday but knew his personal boat could take no more than 12 passengers, the complaint says. He said he initially believed Saturday’s tour would consist of 12 passengers but ultimately agreed to take 13, according to prosecutors.
The day of the trip, Sanchez was with her 5-month-old baby and the child’s father, whom co-workers identified as Andres Garcia.
Before boarding, Hernandez asked the parents whether they had an infant-sized personal flotation device for the baby, and they said they did not, according to the complaint. He told them the boat was not equipped with a child- or infant-sized personal flotation device and instead said one of them would need to wear a flotation device and hold the baby throughout the tour, which Sanchez did, the complaint alleges.
At 10:20 p.m., three hours and 20 minutes into the tour, Hernandez made a U-turn, which brought the vessel into a swell, which was “possibly caused by the wake of a larger passing vessel,” the complaint says.
“However, the swell swamped the bow of the vessel and immediately capsized the vessel,” according to the filing.
The 13 passengers and Hernandez were all thrown overboard.
Shortly after the capsizing, other boats, including commercial vessels and others operated by the New York Police Department, the Coast Guard and the New York City Fire Department, responded, and 11 passengers and Hernandez were pulled from the water in varying conditions.
The bodies of Sanchez and her baby were recovered in the water by police and members of the Coast Guard. Both were unresponsive. They received CPR and were taken to a hospital in Brooklyn, where they were pronounced dead upon arrival.
Hernandez didn’t have required credentials for the boat, prosecutors allege
The complaint said Hernandez never obtained a merchant mariner credential (MMC) or a valid Coast Guard certificate of inspection, both of which are required to operate a vessel with paying customers on board.
The boat was a type and size that made it ineligible to receive a certificate of inspection for “the type of operation conducted by Hernandez,” the complaint says.
Hernandez admitted to law enforcement that he never sought the certificate of inspection or the MMC, both of which are required under federal regulations, because he was unaware that they were required, the filing says.
The certificate of inspection involves a stability test to determine the total number of passengers allowed on board during for-hire operations. The MMC requires operators to show a minimum of 360 days of documented boating experience, and operators must pass a physical examination, a drug test and a background check, as well as first aid, CPR and boating courses, according to the filing.
Because the boat involved in the accident carried more than six passengers, the bar was even higher, the complaint says: An operator must hold an even higher level of certification than the baseline MMC, including a separate exam on navigation, vessel operation and other safety measures.
It is also mandated that children under 13 must wear appropriate personal flotation devices, the filing says.
A community in mourning
The grieving community is rallying around Sanchez’s partner.
On Monday, the general managers of two businesses he worked at held a news conference to support him. He worked at Il Punto Restaurant, which has locations in Manhattan and Flushing, Queens, and at the Marco Hotel, holding various positions over the past six years.
The general managers described Garcia as Sanchez’s husband and as a hardworking, dedicated family man who supported not only his family in New York but also back in his home country, Colombia.
They started an online fundraiser to support Garcia and their surviving 6-year-old child.
Antonio Russo, the general manager of Il Punto, said that he had asked Garcia to work Saturday night at the Manhattan restaurant but that Garcia surprisingly said no.
“He said: ‘Antonio, would you please mind? I have something planned,’ and I was so happy for him, because he never had anything planned,” Russo said. “And he posted a story on his WhatsApp showing the view from the boat, and we all saw it. We were all surprised that he could actually enjoy a minute of his life, because this guy has been providing for his family here but also for his family in Colombia.”
Russo said he had a conversation with Garcia just one day before the tragedy in which Garcia expressed how happy he felt with his family.
“He told me how blessed he felt to have such a wife ... that he was very grateful to have her and that he felt so lucky and blessed,” Russo recalled. “That was the first time we spoke about this so deeply, and then that happened the day after. Can you imagine?”
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Boat captain charged after vessel capsizes near Statue of Liberty, killing woman and her child
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The captain of an unlicensed boat that capsized in the New York harbor near Liberty Island, killing a young mother and her baby, has been charged in their deaths. NBC News' Marquise Francis reports.Aug. 10, 2026
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Man arrested after boat capsizes near Statue of Liberty killing woman and infant
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The operator of a boat that overturned near the Statue of Liberty, killing a woman and a baby, has been arrested and charged with reckless endangerment, New York police said.
Officials said a large search and rescue operation was launched after the incident near New York Harbour on Saturday night. Twelve people who were initially rescued from the water are all reported to be in stable condition.
New York police divers later found a 27-year-old woman and a five-month-old girl, who were transported to a nearby hospital where they later died.
The names of passengers and the specific cause of the incident have not been released by officials.
Around 22:25 local time (03:25 BST), police received a 911 call reporting an overturned boat in the waters near Liberty Island, which houses the iconic statue.
A nearby tour operator Sea the City saw the capsized boat and helped pull 11 people from the water, the company's founder Adam Schwartz said according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.
The rescue involved two Coast Guard boats, four fire department boats, two police boats and a police helicopter, the USCG said.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing, officials said.
The boat's operator, a 46-year-old Manhattan resident, faces 13 counts of reckless endangerment, officials said.
Coast Guard investigators are also determining whether the boat was illegally chartered.
An illegal charter is any passenger-for-hire vessel operation that does not have required credentials, safety equipment, and certificate of inspection.
"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," said Capt Doreen McCarthy of the USCG.
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A woman and her 5-month-old daughter died after a boat capsized near Liberty Island in the New York Harbor on Saturday night.
The boat’s captain, identified as Manuel Hernandez, 46, was arrested and initially charged with 13 counts of reckless endangerment, according to the New York Police Department and the Coast Guard.
He was taken into federal custody and the New York Southern District Court will now take on the investigation, the NYPD confirmed to NBC News.
Court records were not immediately available, and it was unclear Sunday whether Hernandez has an attorney. The New York County Defender Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Investigators with the Coast Guard are coordinating with New York police to determine “whether the operation constitutes an illegal charter operation,” the Coast Guard said in a statement Sunday.
The dead were identified as Queens resident Sara Sanchez, 27, and her baby daughter, Antonella Garcia, according to the NYPD.
It said both were taken to NYU Langone Health Brooklyn in critical condition and later pronounced dead at the hospital.
A 911 caller reported that the vessel, a 22-foot Bayliner pleasure craft, overturned in the harbor around 10:25 p.m. Saturday near Liberty Island, home to the Statue of Liberty, police said.
Bayliner makes a few 22-foot models, each with a capacity of 10 to 12 people, with its new V22 Bowrider able to carry a maximum of 12, according to its website.
Twelve people who were on the boat were rescued before police arrived and were taken to area hospitals with minor injuries, the NYPD said.
The mother and daughter were pulled from the water by police divers, part of an NYPD response that included a helicopter and its Harbor Unit scuba team, the NYPD said.
Neighbor Diego Naranjo, 35, said he met Sanchez a few months ago. She lived in New York City’s College Point neighborhood with the father of their children, he said.
Last week, he saw the couple bringing groceries home. On Sunday, he said, he spoke with family members who visited Sanchez’s home.
“She was a beautiful person, very kind, friendly, respectful,” Naranjo said in a phone interview.
Officials have not released details about the boat or its operator. The Coast Guard confirmed to NBC News on Sunday morning that the vessel was towed to shore and remains in police custody.
The Coast Guard has strict rules about charter vessels, their operators and renters, and the number of passengers on board.
“The Coast Guard, in coordination with the Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) and the NYPD, is conducting an active marine casualty investigation into the circumstances and cause of a fatal vessel capsizing,” the Coast Guard said in its statement.
Liberty Island, on the New Jersey side of New York Harbor, is home to the Statue of Liberty, the iconic sculpture given to the U.S. by France as a symbol of the alliance between the two nations. The statue has been on the island since President Grover Cleveland dedicated it in 1886.
The island is a popular tourist destination, drawing visitors who climb to Lady Liberty’s crown for sweeping harbor views. Others opt for boat tours to take in the statue from the water.
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A woman and her 5-month-old baby died after a boat capsized near Liberty Island in the New York Harbor Saturday night.
The boat’s captain was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement Sunday morning. Investigators with the Coast Guard are coordinating with New York police to determine “whether the operation constitutes an illegal charter operation.”
Police identified the captain as 46-year-old Manuel Hernandez. Court records were not immediately available and it is unclear whether Hernandez has an attorney.
The 27-year-old woman who died was identified as Queens resident Sara Sanchez and the baby was her daughter, Antonella Garcia, according to police. The New York City Police Department said both were taken to NYU Langone Health Brooklyn in critical condition and later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Eleven other people were rescued and taken to area hospitals with minor injuries, according to the FDNY.
Officials have not released details about the boat or its operator. The Coast Guard confirmed to NBC News on Sunday morning that the vessel was towed to shore and remains in police custody.
Liberty Island, on the New Jersey side of New York Harbor, is home to the Statue of Liberty, the iconic sculpture gifted to the United States by France as symbol of the alliance between the two nations. The statue has lived on the island since its dedication in 1886 by President Grover Cleveland.
The island is a popular tourist destination, drawing visitors who climb to Lady Liberty’s crown for sweeping harbor views. Others opt for boat tours to take in the statue from the water.
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Woman and Baby Die After Boat Capsized in New York Harbor
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New York City police are on the scene of a tragic boating accident where a woman and a young child were killed near the Statue of Liberty. The NYPD says they got a call about an overturned boat and when crews arrived, they found 12 people had already been rescued from the water but a 27-year-old woman and five-month-old little girl did not survive. WNBC’s Jessica Cunnington reports for Sunday TODAY.Aug. 9, 2026
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