Liberty Island Boat Tour Horror: Capsized Vessel Kills Mom & Baby
The boat’s operator, Manuel Hernandez, was arrested and taken into federal custody following the capsizing in the New York Harbor on the night of August 8.
| 10 Aug 2026 | 05:30
A boat that capsized in the New York Harbor near Liberty Island on Aug. 8 killed a mother and her baby. Here, Liberty Island is seen from Valentino Pier, Red Hook, Brooklyn, on the morning of Aug. 10. (
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A boat that capsized in the New York Harbor on August 8 left Sara Sanchez and her 5-month-old baby, not pictured, dead. Andres Garcia, her boyfriend and the father of the baby, was also on the boat but survived. The two also shared a son, who was not on the boat. (
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A photo from boat tour charter company Zeus Luxury Rental shows two women aboard a boat much larger than the vessel which capsized, with the Whitestone Bridge nearby. (
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A Zeus Luxury Rental ad posted on Instagram Feb. 20. The image is an East River Manhattan skyline collage and a different model boat than that which capsized on Aug. 8. (
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What should have been a bucolic evening on the waters around the Statue of Liberty turned to horror Saturday, Aug. 8, when a 21-foot-long 2019 Yamaha AR210 motorboat carrying 14 passengers capsized near Liberty Island, leaving a mother and her 5-month-old infant daughter dead.
The victims have been identified as College Point, Queens residents Sara Sanchez, 27, and her child Antonella Garcia. After the capsizing, they were pulled from the water in critical condition and rushed to NYU Langone Health Brooklyn hospital on the Sunset Park, Brooklyn, waterfront, where they were pronounced dead.
The operator of the boat, Manuel Hernandez, 46, was arrested by the NYPD and charged with 13 counts of reckless endangerment. It was then announced that federal authorities would take over the investigation and that he would be tried in federal court.
On Aug. 10, Hernandez was federally charged with negligence and misconduct as a ship captain resulting in death by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. He was released on $50,000 bail and not required to enter a plea.
He was captured on video leaving the courthouse on the afternoon of Aug. 10, wearing a t-shilight colored t-shirt and what appeared to be white swim trunks, walking with a woman presumed to be his lawyer. He kept his head down and refused to answer shouted questions from reporters before jumping into the back of a black SUV. His next court hearing is scheduled for September 9. Since the feds are taking over the case, state level charges are no longer being pursued.
Although a complete narrative of the tragic boat trip is still being put together at press time, but some details are known.
It’s believed the group boarded the boat—from a presently unknown location— at around 7 p.m. to celebrate a birthday with a ride by the Statue of Liberty. The charter was operated by Zeus Luxury Rental of Richmond Hill, Queens.
The company’s website claims “We are one of the leading companies in limousine, party bus, and yacht rentals in the tri-state area. Our fleet includes 40 high-end vehicles from top brands such as Mercedes, Hummer, Rolls-Royce, and Cadillac.” “Affordbale prices / High End luxury transportation” boasts the company’s Instagram page, which includes some, but not many, images of its boats in the water off College Point, Queens, and in New York harbor.
At some point on vessel’s passage by Liberty Island, water got into the boat, which then flipped over.
According to the NYPD, at 10:25 p.m. Saturday evening, they received a 911 call reporting an overturned boat near Liberty Island. The location of the incident was given as the Hudson River near Buoy 32, between the Statue of Liberty and Bay Ridge Anchorage.
The response to this call was large, including the NYPD Harbor Unit, SCUBA Team and Aviation Unit, the Coast Guard, and FDNY.
According to police, 12 of the 14 people aboard the boat were rescued before police arrived. Those passengers were pulled from the water by the captain and crew of a hot tub boat operated by the New York Harbor hot tub tour boat company, Sea the City.
NYPD and the Coast Guard have begun investigating whether Hernandez’s charter operation was illegal. According to a statement released by the Coast Guard, a charter operation that is illegal “lacks required U.S. Coast Guard credentials, safety equipment, and certificate of inspection.”
“We are committed to holding illegal operators accountable to (the) highest extent of the law to ensure the safety of everyone on our waterways,” said Capt. Doreen McCarthy, the Coast Guard’s Sector New York commander.
Numerous observers have also drawn attention to the operating capacity of Hernandez’s boat, a 22-foot Yamaha, most models of which are designed to hold a maximum of 10 to 12 people. That number can go down depending on the water conditions although conditions on the night of the fatal accident were said to be calm.
“Recreational boating in New York Harbor is the Wild West,” a source told the New York Post. “Uncharted debris, rig rap, bridge abutments, marine plane traffic.”
Andres Garcia, the boyfriend of Sanchez and father of Antonella, was also on the boat. He was seen crying in photos while being rescued.
The two also share another son, Salvador, who wasn’t on the boat at the time.
Garcia’s colleagues at the Marco LaGuardia Hotel in Queens and the Punto Ristorante in Hell’s Kitchen began a GoFundMe to support the grieving father that had raised $30,263 by the evening of Aug. 10.
“While trying to process the unimaginable loss of Sara and baby Antonella, Andres must now find the strength to move forward and be there for their 6-year-old son, Salvador, who has also suffered a heartbreaking loss,” the GoFundMe reads.