The pilot of a boat that capsized in New York Harbor last month, killing a mother and her infant daughter, pleaded not guilty Thursday morning, authorities said.
Police arrested Manuel Hernandez, 46, after the Aug. 8 incident in which 27-year-old Sara Sanchez and her 5-month-old daughter Antonella Garcia died. Authorities have said 14 people were on the 22-foot bowrider, despite the boat having a maximum capacity of 10.
Federal prosecutors said Hernandez had been operating the boat as a charter for paying customers without required Coast Guard credentials. Prosecutors also said the boat did not have any life jackets for infants on board. An indictment filed Sept. 3 alleges Hernandez overloaded the vessel with paying customers and caused it to be operated in a dangerous manner.
He was charged with two counts of misconduct and neglect of a ship officer resulting in death, which each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents later detained Hernandez, who is from El Salvador. The Department of Homeland Security has said the Coast Guard determined that Hernandez was living in the United States illegally.
Hernandez also consented to detention Thursday morning and will remain at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn as the criminal case moves forward, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Hernandez had already been held at the facility for immigration detention so he could be available for court, the office said.
The lawyer representing Hernandez did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Gothamist.