A Boston man was indicted Tuesday on involuntary manslaughter and five other charges for a drunken, high-speed boat crash in Boston Harbor that killed 24-year-old Elizabeth "Lizzie" Dankert of Andover in May.
A Suffolk County grand jury returned the six-count indictment against Lawrence Shieh, 40, on Aug. 25, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced. The charges include operating a boat while intoxicated causing death, two counts of OUI causing serious bodily injury, using a boat without authority and a Logan Airport security zone violation, the Eagle Tribune reported.
Shieh's blood alcohol content was measured at 0.20 after the crash, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08, according to prosecutors.
Shieh turned himself in and was scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26, in Suffolk Superior Court.
What prosecutors say happened
On the night of May 13, Shieh had been drinking at ReelHouse and other bars in Boston's Seaport neighborhood, according to the Boston Globe. His friends went home, but Shieh stayed and struck up a conversation with Dankert and two of her friends, whom he did not previously know, and offered to take them out on a boat.
Prosecutors said Shieh used a "transient" key card he was not authorized to have to access Fan Pier Marina after hours, then located the keys to a Freedom Boat Club vessel stored in a hidden box. The club had closed for the day, and its rules prohibit nighttime boating.
The boat had no exterior lights when it headed into the harbor.
Navigation data showed the vessel was traveling at approximately 36 miles per hour when it struck the runway 4R approach pier at Logan International Airport nearly head-on at about 11:20 p.m. Hayden called the speed "dangerously excessive speed for the area." Surveillance video showed the boat completing a hairpin turn before heading directly toward the restricted pier.
Cellphone video from aboard the boat showed Shieh dancing and, approximately six seconds before impact, with both hands off the wheel.
"In the end, we are here today, and Lizzie Dankert is not here today, because of Lawrence Shieh's dangerous and ultimately deadly behavior," Hayden said at a news conference Tuesday.
The victim
Dankert died at Massachusetts General Hospital from a skull fracture sustained in the crash. Two other women, both 23, were seriously injured. Shieh was also hospitalized.
A 2024 graduate of Union College in Schenectady, New York, where she played soccer, Dankert had previously attended Central Catholic High School in Lawrence. At the time of her death, she was living and working in Boston at PTC, a Seaport-based software company.
Michelle Menken, an attorney for the Dankert family, said in a statement that the family feels "…some measure of relief in finally learning what happened that fateful night and seeing that the wheels of justice are in motion."
Investigation and what's next
The indictment resulted from a months-long investigation involving Massachusetts State Police, Massport, Environmental Police, the U.S. Coast Guard and Boston police and firefighters.
Freedom Boat Club, owned by Brunswick Corporation, said the vessel was taken without permission and confirmed it terminated Shieh's membership after the crash. Hayden said the club is not criminally responsible for Dankert's death.
No defense attorney for Shieh has been publicly identified. The arraignment was set for 9 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26, in Suffolk Superior Court.
