What Happened
Elizabeth “Lizzie” Dankert, 24, of Andover, Massachusetts, died after a boat crashed into a pier near a Logan Airport runway in East Boston late on May 13, 2026, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office. The crash occurred at approximately 11:20 p.m. The impact threw all four people aboard onto the rocks lining the shore.
Suffolk County D.A. Kevin Hayden said Dankert and two other women boarded the boat with a man in Boston’s Seaport district late that night, according to CBS Boston. The vessel then traveled into Boston Harbor before striking the pier. Investigators have not publicly identified the man who was aboard or named him as a suspect.
All four passengers were transported to Massachusetts General Hospital. Dankert died a short time after arrival. The three others — two women and the man — were not identified in the DA’s disclosures, and their conditions were not specified.
Freedom Boat Club stated the vessel belonged to them and had been taken “without authorization” after the club closed for the day on May 13. The club did not specify the boat’s make or model in its public statement. Investigators have not released a cause of the crash.
No charges had been filed in the case as of CBS Boston’s report ahead of Tuesday’s news conference. Hayden scheduled a 2 p.m. press conference Tuesday to announce new developments in the investigation.
Dankert played soccer for Union College in Schenectady, New York, and graduated in 2024. She had been working for Boston-based software company PTC at the time of her death.
Location & Road Context
The crash site was a pier in East Boston adjacent to a Logan Airport runway, on the inner harbor side of the airport. The Seaport district, where the group boarded the vessel, sits across the harbor, roughly two miles by water from the crash site. Boston Harbor boat traffic after dark is subject to U.S. Coast Guard navigational regulations; the pier’s exact designation has not been released by investigators.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
Suffolk County D.A. Kevin Hayden is holding a news conference at 2 p.m. Tuesday to disclose new details in the investigation, his office confirmed. No charges have been filed as of that announcement. The DA’s office has not said publicly what caused the boat to strike the pier or who, if anyone, was operating the vessel at the time of impact.
The unauthorized removal of the Freedom Boat Club vessel is a separate factual thread investigators have noted. Whether that fact underlies any forthcoming charge has not been confirmed by the DA’s office, per CBS Boston.
Broader Impact
Freedom Boat Club’s statement that the vessel was taken after the club closed points to questions of marina access control. The club has not said how the boat was removed from its slip or whether surveillance footage was provided to investigators.