Captain charged with killing 27-year-old mother, infant in boating accident on NY Harbor is illegal alien from El Salvador

Manuel Ernesto Hernandez-Umana was piloting a boat on August 8, when it capsized in the harbor. The Department of Justice said that the boat had 14 people aboard, despite having a maximum capacity rating of 10 people. Hernandez-Umana had been conducting a tour for paying customers through a tour operations company.

The DOJ said the infant had not been wearing a lifejacket at the time of the accident, and that the vessel did not have any child- or infant-sized ones aboard. Hernandez-Umana was also said to have not obtained a Coast Guard-required Merchant Mariner Credential, which is needed to operate a vessel with paying customers aboard, and that Hernandez-Umana was operating the vessel without a valid USCG Certificate of Inspection. The DOJ said the size and type of vessel operated was ineligible to receive such a certificate for the type of operation Hernandez-Umana conducted.

When the board capsized, all 14 people aboard were thrown into the water. Boats operating in the area responded to the scene, pulling 11 passengers and Hernandez-Umana from the water alive. The mother and infant were recovered from the water unresponsive, CPR was initiated, and they were transported to a Brooklyn hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

Hernandez-Umana has been charged with two counts of misconduct and neglect of a ship officer resulting in death. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison each.

The Department of Homeland Security said that an investigation by the Coast Guard Investigative Service confirmed that Hernandez-Umana was in the country illegally, resulting in ICE arresting him. DHS said that Hernandez-Umana illegally crossed the border into Texas in 2007 by lying to a CBP officer and falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen to enter the country. He is originally from El Salvador.

“This criminal illegal alien was illegally and recklessly conducting unlicensed boat tours in New York Harbor when his boat capsized, killing a 27-year-old woman and her 5-month-old baby,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “Thanks to the hard work of the men and women of the Coast Guard, ICE, and our federal, state, and local partners, this criminal is off our streets and out of our waterways. Once he faces justice for his crimes, we will make sure that he is swiftly removed from our country.”

“Federal regulations and maritime safety protocols exist to protect the lives and wellbeing of passengers on commercial vessels,” said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald. “The defendant allegedly flouted those regulations when he transported paying customers on a commercial vessel without appropriate licenses, overcrowded the vessel, and took on a 5-month-old infant passenger, with no infant life vests onboard. We mourn the tragic drowning deaths of the infant and her mother and urge would-be tour operators and the public to observe all safety protocols for commercial vessels.”