Captain Arrested After Woman and Baby Die in Statue of Liberty Boat Accident
A boat captain has been arrested and charged after a vessel capsized near the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, killing a young mother and her infant daughter.
Manuel Hernandez, 46, of Manhattan, was arrested around 2:30 a.m. Sunday and charged with 13 counts of reckless endangerment, according to the NYPD. Police received a 911 call around 10:25 p.m. Saturday reporting an overturned vessel, a 22-foot bowrider, near Liberty Island. The department's Harbor Unit, SCUBA Team and Aviation Unit responded, along with the Coast Guard and FDNY.
According to police, 12 people had already been pulled from the water by the time officers arrived. NYPD divers later located a 27-year-old woman and a 5-month-old girl in the water. Both were taken to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn in critical condition and were later pronounced dead. Police identified the victims as Queens resident Sara Sanchez and her daughter, Antonella Garcia. It remains unclear how Hernandez, the boat's captain, was related to the victims.
An Ongoing Coast Guard Investigation
The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating what caused the vessel to capsize, including whether the operation may have constituted an illegal charter, a passenger-for-hire arrangement lacking required Coast Guard credentials, safety equipment and a certificate of inspection. The investigation is being conducted jointly with the Coast Guard Investigative Service and the NYPD.
"We are committed to holding illegal operators accountable to (the) highest extent of the law to ensure the safety of everyone on our waterways," a Coast Guard captain said in a statement.
Court records for Hernandez were not immediately available, and it's unclear whether he has retained an attorney.
A Popular but Sometimes Dangerous Waterway
Liberty Island, home to the Statue of Liberty since its 1886 dedication by President Grover Cleveland, remains one of New York Harbor's most popular tourist destinations, drawing visitors both to the island itself and to the boat tours that circle it for water-level views.
Witness Madeleine Montero described the scene to FreedomNewsTV. "I saw three helicopters, two active boats on the water, and just a lot of NYU (Langone hospital) ambulances, cops, firefighters, trucks," she said.
Saturday's incident is not the first fatal boating accident near the statue. In July 2022, a boat chartered by a group of family and friends capsized in the Hudson River off Midtown Manhattan, killing a young man who was due to be married later that summer. Investigators in that earlier case determined a larger vessel's wake had caused visibility issues that led to the collision.
The investigation into Saturday's capsizing remains ongoing, and additional charges could still be filed pending the outcome of the Coast Guard's review.
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