Authorities have indicted a man in connection with a fatal boat collision in Boston Harbor that occurred late at night in May, officials announced Tuesday.
Lawrence Shieh is facing charges, including involuntary manslaughter, after a grand jury returned an indictment over the May 14 crash.
The incident resulted in the death of Elizabeth Dankert and left two of her friends seriously injured, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said, according to NBC Boston.
Who was Elizabeth “Lizzie” Dankert? 5 things to know
1. She was 24 and from Andover: Elizabeth “Lizzie” Dankert, 24, of Andover, Massachusetts, was killed after a boat crashed into a pier near Boston Logan International Airport.
2. She was a Union College graduate: Dankert graduated from Union College in 2024, where she majored in English. She was also a member of the college’s women’s soccer team.
3. She was a college athlete: Union College remembered Dankert as an “exceptional student-athlete.” She played soccer throughout her four years at the school and was also involved with its writing center. She was a tutor in the college writing center.
{{/usCountry}}3. She was a college athlete: Union College remembered Dankert as an “exceptional student-athlete.” She played soccer throughout her four years at the school and was also involved with its writing center. She was a tutor in the college writing center.
{{/usCountry}}4. She worked at PTC: Dankert was currently working for software company PTC in Boston. According to her LinkedIn account, she was working there as Federal Aerospace and Defense Representative.
5. She died after the Boston Harbor crash: Dankert and three others were thrown onto rocks when the boat struck a Logan Airport runway pier. All four were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she later died.
Footage captured Shieh before crash
Cellphone footage recorded shortly before the fatal collision indicated that Lawrence Shieh was not focused on operating the boat, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden, WCVB reported.
Hayden said the video showed Shieh taking both hands away from the boat’s steering wheel just seconds before it struck the pier.
"Approximately six seconds before the crash, Shieh is captured on video with both hands off the wheel of the boat," he said.
Investigators also determined that the vessel had entered an area where boats were prohibited when it slammed directly into a pier near the airport runway.
Boat entered restricted area at speed
The boat was traveling at approximately 36 mph at the time, a speed Hayden described as "dangerously excessive speed for the area."
"He was intoxicated. He unlawfully took a boat out into Boston Harbor in the dead of night," Hayden said.
Following the collision, first responders carried out what Hayden described as a "heroic" rescue operation, navigating slippery and difficult rocks to reach the people aboard the damaged boat.