40-year-old Massachusetts man charged after 24-year-old standout athlete killed in boat crash

A man has been charged after a young Massachusetts woman was killed in a late-night boat crash.

40-year-old Lawrence Shieh of Boston has been indicted on charges of Manslaughter, Reckless Boat Homicide OUI, Reckless Boat OUI with Serious Injury (2 counts), Logan Security Zone Violation, and Using a Boat Without Authority. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday.

According to Boston EMS, multiple units from Boston EMS responded on May 13th to a challenging boat crash. In difficult conditions, including darkness and slippery shoreline rocks, EMTs located the scene and began patient care.

According to the Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden, a recreational boat struck Logan Airport Pier 4R around 11:20 p.m. The crash threw the four passengers onto the rocks along the shore. Elizabeth Dankert, 24, of Andover, Massachusetts, was killed. The three other passengers, including Shieh, were injured and transported to Massachusetts General Hospital.

Dankert was a soccer standout who played at Union College and earned CSC Academic All-District honors in 2022 and was named to the Liberty League All-Academic Team in both 2021 and 2022. At Union, she worked as a peer editor at the Writing Center and was a member of the Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society. Prior to Union, she was a standout four-year varsity athlete in both soccer and track at Central Catholic High School, where she earned First Team All-Conference honors in soccer in 2018 and 2019. She was also named a Lawrence Tribune Girls Soccer All-Star in both seasons and was a member of the National Honor Society.