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Manuel Hernandez, 46, of Manville, New Jersey, was charged Monday with two counts of misconduct and neglect of a ship officer resulting in death following Saturday night’s capsizing of a Yamaha AR210 he was operating in New York Harbor. The vessel went down during an overcrowded commercial excursion, claiming the lives of a 27-year-old mother and her 5-month-old daughter. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Federal prosecutors allege Hernandez lacked proper licensing to transport paying passengers and deliberately violated maritime regulations. The boat carried 14 people despite a maximum capacity of 10, and Hernandez knowingly allowed the infant aboard without an appropriate life vest after the child’s parents indicated they did not have one. According to the complaint, Hernandez instructed one parent to wear a life vest and hold the baby throughout the tour.
Investigators say this was not Hernandez’s first illegal charter operation. After his arrest, he admitted to piloting at least two other boat tours for the same company using his own vessel, acknowledging he lacked both a Merchant Mariner Credential and Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection for those trips. He reportedly received approximately $1,000 per charter.
About three hours into Saturday’s excursion, Hernandez allegedly made a sharp U-turn while approaching the Statue of Liberty, maneuvering the vessel into a swell possibly caused by a passing boat’s wake. When he attempted to accelerate through the swell, it swamped the bow and the vessel capsized immediately, throwing all 14 occupants into the harbor.
Eleven passengers and Hernandez survived the incident. The mother and infant were recovered unresponsive and later pronounced dead at a Brooklyn hospital. The victims were identified as Sara Sanchez, 27, and her 5-month-old daughter, Antonella Garcia.
Coast Guard Investigative Service Assistant Director Josh Packer characterized illegal charter operations as entities that “gamble with human life.” U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald stated that Hernandez “flouted those regulations when he transported paying customers on a commercial vessel without appropriate licenses, overcrowded the vessel, and took on a five-month-old infant passenger, with no infant life vests onboard.”
Sanchez’s partner and Antonella’s father, Andres Garcia, survived the capsizing and is now caring for the couple’s 6-year-old son, Salvador. A GoFundMe campaign organized by friends and colleagues is raising money for funeral expenses and other costs related to the tragedy.
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