New York Harbor Boat Operator Charged in 2 Deaths After Overloaded Tour Capsized

Q: What fatal instruction did the captain give a mother moments before their overcrowded boat capsized in New York Harbor?

He allegedly told the mother to put on a life jacket herself and hold her 5-month-old baby during the tour because there was no infant-sized life vest on board. According to federal prosecutors and multiple reports, the captain, Manuel Ernesto Hernandez-Umana, was aware the boat lacked child- or infant-sized flotation devices. When the baby’s parents said they did not have one for the infant, he allegedly said the boat did not have one either and instructed that one parent wear a vest and keep the baby in their arms for the entire trip. Investigators say that decision became critical when the overloaded vessel, carrying 14 people on a boat rated for 10, capsized near Liberty Island after a maneuver into a swell. The mother, Sara Sanchez, and her daughter, Antonella Garcia, were recovered from the water and later pronounced dead.

3 articles · Updated · Homeland Security · Aug 19

Manuel Ernesto Hernandez-Umana was arrested after federal investigators said he ran an unlicensed, overcrowded tour boat that capsized in New York Harbor on Aug. 8, killing a 27-year-old woman and her 5-month-old infant.
Two counts of misconduct and neglect of a ship officer resulting in death were filed after the Coast Guard said the vessel was over capacity and carried the infant without any infant life vests onboard.
Coast Guard, NYPD and FDNY crews responded to the harbor accident, recovered the two victims and brought them to a local hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
ICE took Hernandez-Umana into custody after the Coast Guard Investigative Service said it confirmed he was unlawfully in the United States; prosecutors also said he had claimed to have entered through Texas in 2007 by falsely claiming U.S. citizenship.
The case underscores a broader federal crackdown on illegal charter operations, with DHS and maritime investigators warning that unlicensed commercial trips can quickly turn deadly when safety rules are ignored.