Julian Vasquez and Lindelia Vasquez along with a group of about a dozen family members were on the boat named Stimulus Money in Elizabeth, NJ when it overturned on Manhattan's West Side Tuesday, July 12, abc7 reports.
Lindelia worked at Canela's Bar and Restaurant on North Broad Street in Elizabeth, friends tell CBS.
Two other passengers were reported in critical condition and a third was said to be critical but stable. Julian and Lindelia were rushed to Mount Sinai and Bellevue hospitals, where they were pronounced dead, city authorities said.
Investigators believe the 27-foot vessel got caught in the wake of a passing boat when it overturned near the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.
“This situation would have been much worse had it not been for the quick response of our emergency first responders,” NYPD Commissioner Keechant L Sewell told reporters.
Mayor Eric Adams expressed gratitude to those who rushed to rescue nearly a dozen other passengers who survived the tragic ordeal, including New York Waterways ferries.
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