Apple engineer ID’d as boater killed in Golden Gate Bridge crash — as he leaves behind wife, three young kids

An Apple software engineer has been identified as the man killed in a horrific boat crash under the Golden Gate Bridge.

Daniel Zhengyu Qin, 35, from San Jose, succumbed to his injuries at a Marin County hospital following the incident near Lime Point around 6.10am on September 17.

“Zhengyu was a beloved software engineer at Apple, a devoted husband, and a loving father to three young children — an 11-year-old son and two younger daughters, 9 and 3 years old,” family friend Cathy Wu said in a statement.

His wife, Yao Deng, is “facing an unimaginable loss, both emotionally and financially.” Wu has launched a fundraising campaign on Deng’s behalf to cover funeral expenses, living costs and emergency funds for the surviving family.

“Zhengyu was kind, funny, and endlessly generous. He got along effortlessly with his coworkers, his children looked up to him, and his friends adored him,” the fundraiser read.

Qin was “always the first to show up when anyone needed help — whether it was passing along his kids’ outgrown things to other families, sharing the fish he caught on his fishing trips, or simply lending a hand whenever a friend was in need,” the family friend added. 

Captain Ben Mechling, a licensed USCG Master Mariner out on a salmon fishing trip, was nearby when he spotted the boat moving at roughly 25 knots toward the rocky shoreline under the iconic bridge and caught it on video.

“When the boat was cutting across my bow, I noticed it was going into a place where normally you wouldn’t go. … It was going about 25 knots. I paid attention to it, and it smacked right into the rocks,” Mechling told The California Post. 

Mechling immediately alerted the US Coast Guard and a massive multi-agency effort quickly mobilized to rescue those on board.

Rescuers found three individuals including Qin aboard the capsized vessel who were rushed to a Marin County hospital with severe injuries, where Qin later died. 

The two surviving boaters remain hospitalized. Authorities are investigating the exact cause of the collision.

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