Speedboat operator charged after mother and infant killed in New York Harbor capsizing near Statue of Liberty

The charter and the boarding

Paula Rivera's 41st birthday celebration began on Saturday evening on Randall's Island. Her husband, Alexander Reyes, had chartered a boat through Zeus Luxury Rental and invited 11 friends, planning a dinner stop followed by late-night sightseeing in New York Bay. The group was told to leave the dock and walk down the shore to a rocky area, where a 22-foot Bayliner bowrider called City on the Sea waited just offshore. Reyes had been told the boat could accommodate 13 people plus the captain, but the Police Department later said the vessel had seating capacity for no more than 10. Fourteen people boarded at around 7:10 p.m.

The capsizing

After dinner, the boat sailed down the East River into Upper New York Bay. As the group approached the Statue of Liberty, passengers took pictures. At 10:20 p.m., a moderate breeze blew from the west at about 16 miles per hour, according to the National Data Buoy Center. The captain turned the boat back toward New York City. The bow dipped below the water, sending water over the deck, and the vessel flipped. For a moment, everyone was trapped beneath the hull. Twelve people reached the surface and climbed onto the overturned boat. Sara Sanchez, 27, and her 5-month-old daughter Antonella Garcia did not.

The rescue

Paula Rivera called 911. The Coast Guard, NYPD, and FDNY responded with eight boats and a helicopter. A nearby party boat threw life jackets to those in the water. Adam Schwartz told the AP that his company's boat, Sea the City II, was in the area and took on the 12 survivors. The Coast Guard said all persons were recovered, but Sanchez and Antonella were pronounced dead at a hospital. The 12 survivors were reported in stable condition.

Captain Doreen McCarthy, Coast Guard Sector New York commander, credited the rescue to "heroic, swift actions" by responding agencies and a good Samaritan vessel.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life. We are committed to holding illegal operators accountable to the highest extent of the law.”

The investigation and charges

Manuel Hernandez, a 46-year-old New York man, was arrested and faces state charges of reckless endangerment in the deaths. He is now in federal custody and due to appear in federal court in Manhattan on Monday. Nicholas Biase, a spokesperson for Manhattan federal prosecutors, said further information would be provided. The specific federal charges were not immediately revealed. The Coast Guard and NYPD are investigating what caused the boat to flip and whether the trip was operating as an unlawful charter.

The victims' family

Andrés García, Sanchez's husband and Antonella's father, works at Il Punto, an Italian restaurant in Manhattan. The restaurant described the loss as unimaginable and launched an online fundraiser for García. The fundraising page said García must now care for the couple's 6-year-old son, Salvador.

“As he tries to cope with the unimaginable loss of Sara and little Antonella, Andres must now find the strength to move forward and be present for their six-year-old son, Salvador, who has also suffered a heartbreaking loss.”

Before the tour began, García had used FaceTime to speak with his mother in Bogotá, Colombia. He and Sanchez smiled as they told her they would soon board a boat to celebrate a friend's birthday.