Boat operator faces federal charges after mom, baby die in crash in New York Harbor
The operator of a boat that capsized in New York Harbor, leaving a mother and her baby daughter dead, has been charged federally with two counts of misconduct and neglect of a ship officer resulting in death, federal prosecutors said.
Manuel Hernandez, 46, was taken into federal custody on Monday, according to a U.S. official. He appeared in court Monday afternoon and was released on $50,000 bail, ABC New York station WABC reported.
On Saturday night, the boat overturned near the Statue of Liberty, sending all 14 on board into the water, the Coast Guard said.
The boat's maximum capacity is 10 people, federal prosecutors said.
The New York Police Department identified the two people killed as 27-year-old Sara Sanchez and 5-month-old Antonella Garcia of Queens, New York. Sources told ABC News the victims were mother and daughter.
The 12 survivors were rescued with minor injuries, the Coast Guard said.
Sanchez leaves behind her husband, who was on the boat and survived, and their 6-year-old son, who was not on the boat, WABC reported.
Federal prosecutors allege Hernandez knowingly operated the boat with a baby not wearing a flotation device, and allege he knew the boat didn't have any child- or baby-sized flotation devices available on board.
Hernandez allegedly didn't have a "Merchant Mariner Credential, a required USCG [Coast Guard] certification to operate the Vessel with paying customers onboard," federal prosecutors said in a statement.
Hernandez also allegedly operated the boat "without a valid USCG Certificate of Inspection, which is required for a vessel to operate with paying customers onboard," prosecutors said, adding, "the Vessel was of a type and size that made it ineligible to receive a COI for the type of operation."
Hernandez was initially arrested on state charges -- 13 counts of reckless endangerment -- according to the NYPD.
ABC News' Luke Barr contributed to this report.
