Survivor of New York boat capsize that killed mom and baby shares terrifying moments before tragedy
A woman who survived a fatal boat capsize close to the Statue of Liberty has shared the horrific details of the accident.
There were 14 people on board the vessel, a 2019 white Yamaha AR210. Sara Raez was among the passengers who had gathered with family and friends to celebrate her mother’s birthday.
The boat, which Raez described as ‘kind of like a yacht’, passed the Statue of Liberty and was heading to shore when the accident happened, at around 10:30pm.
“When we were heading back, we were slow, but out of nowhere, people started screaming because the front of the boat went into the water,” Raez told the New York Post.
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“The water got into the boat. The boat went up, and when it went down — it was in seconds — it flipped over,” she continued.
“Everyone was on the bottom of the boat. We were just trying to get out. Then, when finally everyone got out, everyone was screaming, because we were still missing them, too.”
Around 15 minutes later, some of the group were on top of the capsized boat trying to wave and get the attention of a far-away boat for help, Raez recalled.
Everyone on board was left stuck beneath the vessel before crews rescued them and pulled them from the water.
The accident claimed the life of Sara Sanchez, a 27-year-old mother and her five-month-old-baby, Antonella Garcia.
They were airlifted to NYU Lagone Hospital in Brooklyn in critical condition but were later pronounced dead.
Sanchez and her daughter are survived by Sanchez’s husband and Antonella’s father Andres, who was also onboard the boat and survived, as well as the couple’s other son.
Other passengers were transported to a local hospital with minor injuries.
Manuel Hernandez, 46, the boat's captain, faces 13 counts of reckless endangerment following the incident on Saturday evening, according to a New York Police Department.
What happened in the New York Harbor boat accident?
Police received a 911 call at approximately 10:25pm on Saturday reporting that a vessel had overturned in the area.
The NYPD's Harbor Unit, SCUBA Team and Aviation unit were sent to the scene as emergency crews searched for people who had ended up in the water.
A total of 12 other people were rescued from the vessel before police arrived, according to the NYPD spokesperson. They were subsequently transported to hospitals.
Hernandez was taken into custody several hours after the initial emergency call.
The charges against him relate to reckless endangerment, with 13 counts filed following the capsizing.
Topics: US News
Greg Harris