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Apple Engineer Killed in Fishing Boat Accident Under Golden Gate Bridge
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The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. (Courtesy of Minyun Zhou/Dreamstime)
By Lear Zhou
9/22/2026Updated: 9/22/2026

SAN FRANCISCO—A man who died in a fishing boat crash under the Golden Gate Bridge last week was identified as a father of three and a software engineer at Apple Inc., according to a GoFundMe page supporting his family.

Daniel Zhengyu Qin, 35, of San Jose, was one of the three people onboard when the 25-foot boat struck rocks near Lime Point beside the bridge’s north tower shortly after 6 a.m. on Sept. 17. The impact caused the vessel to capsize and badly injured all three.

Rescuers pulled the three from the water and sent them to a hospital for urgent medical care after treating them on scene.

Qin died despite prolonged resuscitative efforts, according to the Marin County Sheriff’s Office. The conditions of the other two people were not released.

The fundraiser said Qin was “a devoted husband and a loving father to three young children”—an 11-year-old son and two daughters aged 9 and 3.

The GoFundMe, organized by Cathy Wu for Qin’s wife, Deng Yao, aimed to raise $200,000 to support the family.

The campaign described Qin as a generous person, “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.”

Marine and land units from multiple agencies responded to the 911 call, which reported a single boat in distress.

The units at the scene included the U.S. Coast Guard, Southern Marin Fire Protection District Fireboat Liberty, San Francisco Police Department Marine Unit, Sausalito Fire Department, and Marin County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit Rescue-1.

The cause of the crash remained under investigation as of Sept. 21.

On July 14, Volare, a 49-foot cabin cruiser with 20 people aboard, sank near Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, according to an X post by the San Francisco Fire Department.

The accident caused three confirmed deaths, and one missing and presumed dead, according to a Kron 4 report.

Officials didn’t reveal the cause of Volare’s sinking.

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Lear Zhou
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Lear is a reporter based in San Francisco covering Northern California news.