An “exceptional” New York college graduate was killed when a boat she and her friends were riding without permission crashed into a pier in Boston Harbor, according to officials.
Elizabeth “Lizzie” Dankert, who played soccer for Union College in Schenectady, was killed after the recreational boat smashed into pier 4R, just off a runway at Logan International Airport, around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Massachusetts State Police.
The boat’s driver, Lawrence Shieh, 40, and two of Dankert’s 23-year-old female friends were all rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, WCVB reported.
Dankert, 24, and her friends had been out in Boston’s Seaport District earlier Wednesday night when they boarded the Freedom Boat Club’s vessel without permission, according to the club.
“The vessel involved was taken without authorization and operated outside the knowledge and control of the Club, well after the Club had closed for the day,” the club told WCVB. “We are cooperating fully with all relevant authorities.”
Boston EMS shared a photograph of the mangled center console on the harbor shore near the pier on social media.
“In difficult conditions, including darkness and slippery shoreline rocks, EMTs located the scene and began patient care,” the agency said. “Working in close coordination with Massport Fire, crews carefully extricated four patients from the rocks.”
Dankert, of Andover, was a 2024 graduate of Union College, a small liberal arts school in Schenectady, New York, where she played soccer.
“Lizzie was an exceptional student-athlete who had a tremendous impact during her four years at Union College,” Union College spokesman Phillip Wajda told Boston 25 in a statement.
“Her passing is a profound loss for our campus community. We offer our condolences to Lizzie’s family, classmates, teammates and all those who were lucky to know this terrific young woman.”
The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
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