An allegedly drunk Boston finance executive took his hands off the steering wheel of the boat he was driving causing a crash which killed a 24-year-old soccer star and injured two women on board, prosecutors said.
Lawrence Shieh, 40, has pleaded not guilty to six counts related to the horror collision which claimed the life of Elizabeth Dankert, 24.
He appeared in Suffolk Superior Court on Wednesday to deny the charges, which include involuntary manslaughter and boat OUI causing serious bodily injury.
Prosecutors said that on May 13, Shieh was heavily intoxicated when he took his hands off the steering wheel to dance with three women on board seconds before it plowed into a pier.
Shieh, a former executive at the Boston private equity firm HarbourVest Partners, allegedly had a blood alcohol level of 0.2, which is more than twice the legal limit, about an hour after the crash.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced a grand jury indictment against Shieh during a press conference on Tuesday.
The district attorney said video taken by the women on board displayed Shieh’s ‘inattentiveness at the helm’ before he took both hands off the steering wheel about six seconds before the fatal crash.
Prosecutors in court on Wednesday said that Shieh was a member of the Freedom Boat Club and had taken one of the company’s vessels without authorization, as it prohibits use of its boats after dark in part because they have no exterior lights, NBC Boston reported.
Elizabeth Dankert, 24, was killed in a May 13 Boston Harbor boat crash after an allegedly drunk finance executive operating the vessel took both hands off the wheel, according to prosecutors
Lawrence Shieh, 41, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to six charges, including involuntary manslaughter, related to the fatal boat crash. He is pictured in court
Prosecutors said that the women were playing music and taking videos on Snapchat aboard the vessel, which is how they allegedly obtained evidence that Shieh had taken his hands off the wheel.
Data from the boat showed that it was going around 36 mph shortly after 11pm while going in the direction of the Runway 4R pier at Logan International Airport, according to prosecutors.
The vessel crashed into the pier at 11.10pm, knocking off all four people on board, prosecutors said.
Dankert struck her head in the fall, and her cause of death was listed as a fracture to the back of her skull, prosecutors said.
Everyone on the boat, including Shieh, suffered serious injuries that required hospitalization. Dankert died in the hospital the morning after the crash.
Shieh allegedly had around seven drinks between 5pm and 9pm at a bar with friends on the night of the crash before parting ways with them and heading to a different bar.
At the second bar, Shieh allegedly had an additional shot of whiskey and an espresso martini before approaching Dankert and her friends around 10pm. He offered them a ride on a rental boat several times before they accepted, prosecutors said.
Shieh turned himself in after he was released from the hospital and has been cooperative with authorities, according to his attorney Nick Pisegna, per NBC Boston.
Shieh allegedly took this rental boat from the Freedom Boat Club, which he was a member of, without permission after hours to take Dankert and two other women out on the water
The boat crashed into a pier at Logan International Airport, knocking off all four people on board. Dankert’s cause of death was listed as a fracture to the back of her skull
The alleged drunk boater was released from jail after posting a $25,000 bond with conditions of no contact with witnesses, Fan Pier and Freedom Boat Club employees. He is also prohibited from boating or consuming alcohol while the case is pending.
Pisegna said in court that his client surrendered his passport and has not left Massachusetts since the crash, while keeping the District Attorney’s Office updated on his whereabouts.
The attorney also said that Shieh has been attending therapy, physical therapy and doctor appointments, and that he has been looking for a new job.
Shieh is due to return in court on October 8 for a pre-trial conference.
‘I think it would be insensitive to say anything other than our hearts go out to the family, the friends and the three women who were involved… It’s an accident,’ Pisegna said in court on Wednesday, according to NBC Boston.
Through a representative, Dankert’s family said during Tuesday’s indictment announcement that they feel ‘some measure of relief in finally learning what happened that fateful night and seeing that the wheels of justice are in motion.’
Dankert was a soccer player at Union College in New York, where she graduated in 2024. Her family said through a representative that they are relieved ‘the wheels of justice are in motion’
Dankert graduated in 2024 from Union College in New York, where she was a soccer player.
‘Lizzie was an exceptional student-athlete who had a tremendous impact during her four years at Union College. Her passing is a profound loss for our campus community,’ a university spokesperson said in May.
‘We offer our condolences to Lizzie’s family, classmates, teammates and all those who were lucky to know this terrific young woman.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to Shieh’s attorney and HarbourVest for comment.
