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 vessel tied to a pier after the incident Saturday.United States Coast Guard Investigative ServiceThe accidentHernandez 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 accide...