Feds charge boat captain after church celebration ends in death of mom, baby

☑️ A 22-foot boat capsized Saturday night near the Statue of Liberty

☑️ A 27-year-old mother and her 5-month-old daughter died

☑️The boat captain now faces federal charges in their deaths

NEW YORK — A church celebration that began with dinner at a New Jersey restaurant turned tragic Saturday night when a boat capsized near the Statue of Liberty, leaving a mother and her 5-month-old daughter dead and the boat captain facing federal charges.

A 22-foot Bayliner speedboat overturned around 10:30 p.m. in New York Harbor, sending 14 people into the water. All were rescued but a baby and her mother died, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The operator of the boat was arrested.

A GoFundMe campaign identified the victims as 27-year-old Sara Sanchez and her 5-month-old daughter, Antonella Garcia, of Queens. They are survived by the children's father, Andres Garcia, and their 6-year-old son, Salvador.

"No amount of money can replace Sara or Antonella. But together, we can give Andres some breathing room to grieve, take care of their son, Salvador, and begin facing a future that changed in an instant," campaign organizers IL Punto Ristorante and Marco LaGuardia Hotel said.

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Captain faces federal charges

Jorge Ortiz told the New York Post they were on the Zeus Luxury with friends from their church celebrating a birthday. The evening started with dinner at a New Jersey restaurant and continued with a cruise around Liberty Island.

Ortiz said the boat's operator, Manuel Hernandez, 46, of Manhattan, told passengers they did not need to wear life jackets. Ortiz also said the boat appeared to be too heavy and that Hernandez did not help passengers get out of the water.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York charged Hernandez on Monday with negligence as a ship captain resulting in death and misconduct as a ship captain resulting in death. He was released on $50,000 bail with provisions that include Hernandez not operating a boat.

The initial 13 counts of reckless endangerment from the NYPD have been dropped.

The NYPD is still investigating whether Hernandez was running an illegal charter operation and whether the boat was over capacity.

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