What Happened
Lawrence Shieh, 40, of Boston was indicted by a Suffolk County grand jury on six counts in connection with a May 13 boat crash near Pier 4R at Logan International Airport that killed Elizabeth “Lizzie” Dankert, 24, of Andover, Massachusetts, and injured two other women, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office announced August 25, according to WCVB.
On the night of May 13, Dankert and two other women were in Boston’s Seaport District when they boarded a boat with a man later identified as Shieh, Suffolk County investigators said. The boat struck Pier 4R at Logan just after 11 p.m. Dankert died at the scene. Shieh and the two other women were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
The boat had been docked at Freedom Boat Club in the Seaport District. Freedom Boat Club told investigators the vessel was taken without permission, per WCVB.
The Suffolk County grand jury returned an indictment on six counts: one count of involuntary manslaughter; one count of operating a boat while intoxicated causing death; two counts of operating a boat while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury; one count of using a boat without authority; and one count of a Logan airport security violation. The indictment was reported at 2:52 p.m. EDT on August 25, 2026.
Dankert had played soccer at Union College in New York after graduating from Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
Location & Road Context
The crash occurred on the water near Pier 4R at Logan International Airport, on the Boston Harbor side of the airport. The boat originated from Freedom Boat Club’s Seaport District location. Logan’s harbor piers fall within a restricted airport security zone, which accounts for the separate Logan airport security violation count in the indictment.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
Shieh faces the full six-count indictment returned by the Suffolk County grand jury, with the case proceeding in Suffolk Superior Court. His arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office as reported by WCVB. No bail figure has been released ahead of that hearing.
The two surviving women each form the basis of a separate count of operating a boat while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury, meaning their injuries were serious enough to meet the statutory threshold for that charge.
Broader Impact
Massachusetts law treats operating a vessel while intoxicated causing death as a felony distinct from the underlying manslaughter count, allowing prosecutors to pursue both charges simultaneously, which the Suffolk County grand jury did here. Shieh faces a maximum sentence exposure across all six counts that will be addressed at Wednesday’s arraignment in Suffolk Superior Court.