The New York Harbor tragedy that left a mother and her infant daughter dead has taken a stark turn: court papers say the man at the helm was not licensed to operate the boat and had been hired as a limo driver for the company behind the outing. The motorboat capsized near Liberty Island on Saturday night after, prosecutors say, it was packed beyond safe limits and lacked basic safety gear for children.
Federal prosecutors identified the operator as Manuel Hernandez, 46, and said he was running what they described as an illegal charter operation. They allege he loaded 13 passengers onto a 21-foot boat and failed to provide required safety equipment, including life jackets sized for infants or small children. The vessel was struck by a swell while Hernandez was making a turn near Liberty Island, and the boat overturned shortly before 10:30 p.m.
The crash killed Sara Sanchez, 27, and her 5-month-old daughter, Antonella Garcia. According to the account in court, panicked passengers clung to the overturned vessel until help reached them. Survivors said the captain swam to the hull after the boat flipped while people searched desperately for relatives, including the mother and child who did not survive.
Hernandez appeared in Manhattan federal court Monday afternoon facing misconduct and neglect charges. He arrived before the judge still wearing a white bathing suit and swim shoes, according to the court appearance described in the case. Before the federal case moved forward, the NYPD had already arrested him and filed more than a dozen reckless endangerment counts tied to the deadly incident.
