The victims of the Hudson River boat accident were on a tour of Manhattan for a family reunion when the vessel capsized, killing a 7-year-old boy and the 50-year-old woman who planned the trip, The Post has learned.
Lindelia Vasquez, 50, had about seven relatives in town from Colombia and Florida who were visiting loved ones in Elizabeth, New Jersey and booked the Tuesday charter to take her family for a tour of the Big Apple’s waterways, said longtime friend Albert Orozco.
“Lindelia and her sister, Omira, are like family to me. I cried when I heard. Everyone here was crying when we heard the news. Such nice people, hardworking good people. I could not hide it. I just cried,” Orozco, 60, told The Post.
Prior to their voyage, Vasquez and 13 of her relatives, some of whom were from out of town and some who lived in Elizabeth, went to Orozco’s restaurant, Brisas Bakery and Restaurant, where they had breakfast and purchased food to bring on board, he said.
“[Tuesday] morning the whole family came in here at nine o’clock, [it] was 14 of them. She bought empanadas, the bread with cheese, the ice cream, everything,” said Orozco, adding Vasquez works at an eatery about a block away.
“The Colombian Community here we don’t feel good. This community we lost good friends.”
One of Vasquez’s relatives, Julian Vasquez, 7, perished in the accident after the two of them became trapped underneath the boat when it capsized.
“I cried. It’s so sad when I think of the little boy, I cried. He was here yesterday morning. I saved the lollipops for him. I save the last one for him ‘cause I knew he was coming and he likes them,” said Ester Montano, 59, who works at the restaurant’s bakery counter.
“I cry when I heard he drowned. So sad so very sad. He came and went right for the freezer, he took the tricolor ice creams, the colors of the Colombian flag, he just went straight for them. I can’t even think about it it’s so sad. When I was told that I couldn’t believe it and I just cried.”
Orozco said a representative from the Colombian consulate contacted him for help getting in touch with Vasquez’s family but everyone’s phones fell into the river and no one has been able to get in touch.
He said Vasquez came to Elizabeth from Colombia nearly 20 years ago.
A friend of the woman penned a heartbreaking post saying she was gutted by her death.
“Friend, I have to tell you that my life is different after having you be a part of it. I learned so much from you that I began to admire you for how beautiful and hard working you were,” the friend, Sandra Roa, wrote alongside photos of Vasquez.
“I will never forget what a quality person you were and your charisma. This is a terrible tragedy and I still can’t believe it. I regret the sadness this has caused.”
Additional reporting by MaryAnn Martinez