Andres Garcia’s partner Sara Sanchez and their 5-month old daughter Antonella died aboard a boat that capsized Saturday in New York Harbor

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Andres Garcia and his partner, Sara Sanchez, were excited to celebrate a friend’s birthday aboard a boat in New York Harbor on Saturday night, along with their 5-month-old daughter, Antonella Garcia.

It was a rare night off for Garcia, who typically works seven days a week, according to Antonio Russo, the manager of Il Punto Ristorante, where Garcia has worked for five years and is now a breakfast manager. It is one of multiple jobs the father of two has held to provide for his family in the U.S. and his native Colombia, Russo says.

“It was very unusual for that family to go out and have fun,” Russo tells PEOPLE. “So I was very happy. He was going to take that Saturday off for himself.”

But the evening ended tragically after the 22-foot Bayliner speedboat they were aboard capsized in the harbor shortly before 10:30 p.m. near the Statue of Liberty, sending all 14 passengers into the water. Sanchez and Antonella were taken to a hospital in Brooklyn, where they were later pronounced dead. The 12 other passengers were rescued and taken to area hospitals with minor injuries, the New York City Fire Department said.

Garcia was not immediately aware Sanchez and Antonella had died, according to Russo. Garcia, who is also the father of a 5-year-old son, Salvador, called the Marco LaGuardia Hotel, where he also works as a van driver, to tell his bosses he would not be able to report for his 5:30 a.m. shift.

“He didn’t realize what was going on,” Russo says. “But he called right away, to say he was not going to be able to come to work and that he was going to a hospital that was in Brooklyn.”

Russo says he and Garcia’s coworkers followed developments throughout the night and later learned that Sanchez and Antonella had not survived.

The operator of the speedboat, Manuel Hernandez, 46, was arrested and charged with 13 counts of reckless endangerment, authorities said. Coast Guard investigators are looking into whether the tour was an illegal charter operation, the agency said in a news release.

Russo says Garcia’s coworkers are invested in helping him because he is “an amazing person” and “a hardworking father who always provided for his family in an amazing way.” Garcia has held various positions at the restaurant and hotel, working his way up from a hotel houseman to a waiter at the restaurant and now a manager.

“He’s been working doing 3, 4, 5, jobs,” Russo tells PEOPLE. “He’s very smart.”

Russo is scheduled to open an Il Punto Ristorante in Flushing, Queens, in two weeks and had planned for Garcia to serve as an assistant manager during dinner service.

“I don’t know what life’s going to bring, what is going to happen,” Russo says. “I really wanted him to make more money.”

Alexander Reyes told The New York Times that he chartered the boat with Zeus Luxury Rental, for his wife, Paula Rivera’s, 41st birthday and invited 11 friends. Reyes also told the outlet that he called Zeus Luxury Rental beforehand to ask how many passengers could fit and was told it could accommodate 12 people. He said he also asked whether a baby could come aboard and was told yes.

Zeus Luxury Rental did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Russo helped launch a GoFundMe to help cover Sanchez and Antonella’s funeral expenses, as well as Garcia’s time away from work and living expenses for him and Salvador, who was with a sitter Saturday night along with the children of other passengers.

“A lot of the employees at the hotel have young children and this has deeply affected them,” Santina Wiggins, assistant general manager of the Marco LaGuardia Hotel, tells PEOPLE. She said the hotel is accepting gifts for Salvador, whose sixth birthday is Thursday.

“No amount of money can replace Sara or Antonella,” the GoFundMe says. “But together, we can give Andres some breathing room to grieve, take care of their son, Salvador, and begin facing a future that changed in an instant.”