A 5-month-old girl and a 27-year-old mother from Queens died after a boat overturned off Liberty Island late Saturday night, according to officials. Twelve other people were rescued from the water, and the boat’s operator was arrested.
The boat overturned at about 10:20 p.m., prompting a large emergency response involving FDNY and NYPD Harbor, scuba and aviation units.
The infant and woman, identified as 5-month-old Antonella Garcia and 27-year-old Sara Sanchez, were transported to NYU Langone Brooklyn in critical condition, where they were later pronounced dead. The U.S. Coast Guard said the two passengers who were killed were a mother and child; however, police said it was not immediately clear whether the two were related.
The 12 other passengers rescued from the water were taken to hospitals with minor injuries.
Manuel Hernandez, 46, of Manhattan, was arrested and charged with 13 counts of reckless endangerment. The Coast Guard said investigators are also looking into whether the trip may have been operating as an illegal charter. The agency, working alongside the Coast Guard Investigative Service and NYPD, is conducting an active investigation into what caused the fatal capsizing.
Eyewitness News reporter Sonia Rincon spoke with the employer of the man whose wife and infant daughter died. The employer started a fundraiser to help the young husband and father who was also on that boat and survived.
His boss told Eyewitness News that the young couple also has a six-year-old son who was with a sitter on Saturday night when the incident happened. The adults on the boat were church friends and were celebrating a birthday. The couple, however, did bring their five-month-old daughter with them on the boat ride that was supposed to be fun and safe.
One witness described seeing a frantic rescue effort as emergency boats raced back and forth to the scene.
“I saw a lot of ambulances, firefighters, and then I saw that there were boats here,” said Madeline Hunter, a witness. “And then people were just saying that there was a mother and a child that needed to be rescued from the water and that they were found.”
Police identified the vessel as a 22-foot bowrider power boat, a type that typically holds 10 to 12 people.
Eyewitness News was told that Sanchez lived in College Point, Queens. Lucy Yang was there Sunday afternoon speaking with shocked neighbors.
“I’m in shock,” said Diego Naranjo. “For the family, sending condolences to the family. May they rest in peace in heaven.”
The young father who survived is inconsolable, according to his boss, who says he worked hard to support his wife and children. They lived in Queens, but were from Colombia and had no other family in the United States.
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