Lawrence Shieh, 40, has been indicted in the boat crash that killed a Union College graduate.
The Boston man was charged by a Suffolk County grand jury on multiple counts connected to the May 13 collision that killed Elizabeth “Lizzie” Dankert, 24, and injured two of her friends in Boston Harbor. Prosecutors say Shieh was intoxicated and not steering when the vessel slammed into a pier near Logan International Airport.
District Attorney Kevin Hayden told reporters that Shieh spent the evening drinking across the Seaport District before taking the boat. “That night, Lawrence Shieh drank a mix of alcoholic beverages at the ReelHouse with friends and several other bars in the Seaport,” Hayden said.
“Blood testing after the crash recorded his blood-alcohol at.20, or more than twice the.08 legal limit here in Massachusetts,” Hayden continued.
The charges include involuntary manslaughter, operating a boat while intoxicated causing death, two counts of operating a boat while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury, and using a boat without authority. The crash’s location near Logan International Airport brought an additional airport security violation charge.
The vessel belonged to Freedom Boat Club, which stated that Shieh took it without permission. “The vessel involved was taken without authorization and operated outside the knowledge and control of the Club, well after the Club had closed for the day,” the club told WCVB at the time.
Dankert, of Andover, had graduated in 2024 from Union College, a small liberal arts school in Schenectady, New York, where she played soccer. She and her friends had been out in Boston’s Seaport District earlier that Wednesday night before boarding the vessel.
Union College spokesman Phillip Wajda told Boston 25 in a statement that Dankert stood out during her time on campus. “Lizzie was an exceptional student-athlete who had a tremendous impact during her four years at Union College,” Wajda said.
“Her passing is a profound loss for our campus community. We offer our condolences to Lizzie’s family, classmates, teammates, and all those who were lucky to know this terrific young woman,” he added.
In the viral moment that preceded the indictment, prosecutors revealed that Shieh was not only drunk but physically dancing with no hands on the wheel when the boat struck the pier. The detail emerged as part of the grand jury presentation, painting a picture of reckless behavior leading to the fatal impact. The collision killed Dankert and left her two friends with serious injuries, transforming what began as a night out in the Seaport into a multi-fatality criminal case with charges spanning manslaughter to airport security violations.
Shieh faces arraignment in Suffolk Superior Court on the indictment.