Insets, from left: Elizabeth "Lizzie" Dankert (Conte Funeral Home) and Lawrence Shieh (WCVB). Background: The boat Shieh was allegedly driving when he crashed it, killing Dankert (Boston EMS/Facebook).
A Massachusetts man is accused of slamming a boat head-on into a pier in the middle of the night in Boston Harbor, killing a 24-year-old woman after he picked her and her friends up at a bar.
Lawrence Shieh, 40, is facing charges of involuntary manslaughter, operating a boat while intoxicated causing death, and two counts of operating a boat while intoxicated and causing serious injury, according to the Suffolk District Attorney's Office.
The May 13 crash that occurred near Logan International Airport took the life of Elizabeth "Lizzie" Dankert.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden told reporters at a press conference that Shieh was at a bar with friends that night. He remained at the watering hole after his friends left and he "struck up a conversation" with Dankert and her two friends, said Hayden. Shieh apparently wanted to impress the women by offering to take them to his boat club.
The club allows members to take boats out into the harbor, but they can't do so at night. Shieh allegedly took the boat, which he did not own, out onto the water with the three women inside. The boat did not have any exterior lighting to illuminate the water. Shieh was allegedly driving near Logan International Airport, where boats are prohibited.
"In the time leading up to the crash, cellphone videos recorded Shieh's conduct, including inattentiveness at the helm, dancing, and engaging with the three young women," Hayden said. "Approximately six seconds before the crash, Shieh is captured on video with both hands off the wheel of the boat."
Surveillance video showed that the boat crashed head-on into a Logan Airport runway approach pier at roughly 36 mph, which is considered an excessive speed, prosecutors said. All the occupants of the boat fell backward upon impact. Dankert suffered a fatal injury to the back of her head. Shieh and the two other women suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
The defendant's blood alcohol level was 0.20, more than twice the legal limit.
"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. "He unlawfully took a boat out into Boston Harbor in the dead of night, he drove that boat at a reckless speed in a restricted area of the Boston Harbor. He did this with three young women aboard, placing their lives in imminent danger."
Shieh pleaded not guilty and is being held on a $25,000 bond. His next court date is set for Oct. 8.
Dankert was an English major at Union College, where she played on the soccer team.
"Her greatest joy was found in tight and meaningful relationships, time in nature, the beach, a beautiful view and new adventures," her obituary said. "She worked hard for the things she valued. She was a tremendous soccer player and played at the college level."
The family's lawyer released a statement, saying they had hoped someone would be held accountable.
"There is some measure of relief in finally learning what happened that fateful night and seeing that the wheels of justice are in motion," the statement said. Family members "intend to focus their attention primarily on the seemingly insurmountable tasks of learning to go on without their beloved daughter and sister, Lizzie, and trying to honor the way she lived (with positivity and joy) rather than the way she died."
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