Feds charge speedboat operator after mother and infant are killed in New York Harbor capsizing

NEW YORK (AP) — The driver of a speedboat that capsized in New York Harbor over the weekend, killing a 27-year-old woman and her infant daughter, was charged Monday with causing their deaths through misconduct or neglect.

Manuel Hernandez, 46, of Manville, New Jersey, wiped his eyes with his hand as he arrived for his initial appearance in Manhattan federal court, his feet shackled. He was not required to enter a plea and was released on $50,000 bail.

Sara Sanchez and her 5-month-old daughter, Antonella Garcia, died after the 22-foot Yamaha AR210 speedboat overturned late Saturday near the Statue of Liberty in an accident authorities blamed on an overcrowded boat, poor decisions by Hernandez, a lack of appropriate licenses and the failure to put a life vest on a 5-month-old child. Twelve others were rescued and are in stable condition, authorities said.

As Hernandez left the hearing, his court-appointed attorney, Amy Gallicchio, guided him to a waiting vehicle. Both declined to comment.

The vessel was pulled from the water and taken to the New York Police Department’s harbor unit facility on Randall’s Island.

After state charges were lodged against Hernandez over the weekend, prosecutors said Monday that he will be tried in federal court, not state court. He was transferred to federal custody on Sunday.

In a criminal complaint, federal prosecutors brought two charges alleging that Hernandez, as the boat’s pilot and operator, engaged in negligent actions and omissions that caused the capsizing and deaths in a boat that exceeded its maximum capacity of 10 people, with 14 on board.

They said he also knowingly operated the boat with an infant on board without ensuring that the child was wearing a life vest and with the awareness that the boat didn’t have any child- or infant-sized life vests.

The boat tour, which began at 7 p.m. Saturday, was more than three hours into its journey when Hernandez was piloting the boat toward the Statue of Liberty and made a U-turn that brought it into a swell, possibly caused by a larger passing vessel’s wake, according to the complaint.

Hernandez tried to accelerate to pass through the swell, but the swell swamped the bow of his boat and immediately capsized it, prosecutors wrote.

Hernandez told investigators that he had worked for the company on a freelance or contract basis since last year, starting as a limousine driver, they wrote.

He stated that twice recently he used his personal boat, a slightly larger Yamaha AR250, for charter tours organized by Zeus Luxury Rentals Inc., according to the complaint.

He said that on Saturday, he used a friend’s boat because his own needed repairs, but he didn’t tell the friend that he was using it for a charter tour, prosecutors wrote.

Hernandez admitted to investigators that he had never sought the required licensing and claimed he was unaware it was needed, they wrote. He also admitted that he agreed to conduct the tour with the 5-month-old on board despite the vessel not having any child or infant-sized life vests, prosecutors said.

Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said the “tragedy could have been prevented, and now a family is left to grieve the unimaginable loss of a mother and her 5-month-old daughter because of his negligence.”

In a news release, U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said Hernandez flouted federal regulations and maritime safety protocols when he transported paying customers on a commercial boat without appropriate licenses.

“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,” he said.

Capt. Doreen McCarthy, the Coast Guard Sector New York commander, credited the rescue of survivors to “heroic, swift actions” by those who responded from various agencies, along with a good Samaritan vessel.

Meanwhile, a GoFundMe campaign that began Sunday to help Andres Garcia pay for the funeral and other expenses for his partner, Sanchez, and their daughter had topped $25,000 by Tuesday afternoon. Garcia was also on the boat when it capsized.

Antonio Russo, general manager at Il Punto Ristorante, said Garcia is an “amazing guy” who has been working long hours each week as a waiter, driver and food-runner to provide for his family here and in Colombia.

Diego Naranjo, a neighbor of Sanchez in Queens, said he first met her last spring when her son threw a ball into their backyard. After recovering the ball, Naranjo invited her son to play on a trampoline with his children.

“They were really nice people. You can see when a person is noble,” Naranjo said.

He said he last saw Sanchez last Tuesday as she brought groceries into her home. He said he was shocked by the deaths.

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This story was updated to correct that the boat was a Yamaha, not a Bayliner.

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Turbay reported from Little Rock, Arkansas. Associated Press reporter Larry Neumeister in New York contributed to this report.