Captain charged after boat capsizes near Statue of Liberty, killing mother and baby
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The Statue of Liberty seen from the Staten Island Ferry, New York, July 22, 2026. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis News/Corbis via Getty Images via CNN Newsource)
By Gloria Pazmino, Martin Goillandeau, Chris Boyette, CNN
(CNN) — The captain of a boat that capsized near Liberty Island in New York Harbor, killing a woman and her 5-month-old daughter, has been arrested and charged with reckless endangerment, authorities said.
Manuel Hernandez, 46, of Manhattan, was arrested at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday and charged with 13 counts of reckless endangerment, the NYPD said.
Police received a 911 call at about 10:25 p.m. Saturday reporting an overturned vessel near Liberty Island, home to the Statue of Liberty, according to the NYPD. The boat was in the Hudson River near Buoy 32, between the Statue of Liberty and Bay Ridge Anchorage, police said. The department’s Harbor Unit, SCUBA Team and Aviation Unit responded to the scene.
Twelve people had been pulled from the water before police arrived, the NYPD said. Divers later located a 27-year-old woman and a 5-month-old girl in the water. Both were taken to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn in critical condition and were later pronounced dead, police said. Their identities are pending family notification, an NYPD spokesperson said.
A total of 14 people were on board the vessel, according to police. Twelve were rescued, including 11 who were saved by the captain and crew of the first boat to arrive on the scene — a hot tub boat called Sea the City II — according to the company’s owner, Adam Schwartz.
Temperatures Saturday night were about 80 degrees Fahrenheit under clear skies, with light westerly winds of around 10 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
“I saw three helicopters, two active boats on the water, and just a lot of NYU (Langone hospital) ambulances, cops, firefighters, trucks,” witness Madeleine Montero told FreedomNewsTV.
CNN affiliate WABC reported the capsized boat was a 22-foot bowrider, a common type of recreational powerboat. CNN has reached out to authorities for more information about the vessel.
The US Coast Guard is also investigating what caused the boat to capsize, including whether the vessel was part of an illegal charter operation.
The-CNN-Wire
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