Former college soccer player killed in boat crash near Logan Airport
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A 24-year-old former student-athlete was killed in a boating accident in Massachusetts after he and his friends allegedly took a boat without permission and crashed it into the pier.
Elizabeth “Lizzie” Dankert, a former football player at Union College, was killed when a recreational speedboat crashed into a pier near the runway at Logan International Airport around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to Massachusetts State Police.
The fatal accident came to attention after authorities claimed the group had taken the boat without permission, hours after the boat club closed for the night.
Dankert and his friends were in Boston’s Seaport District that night and allegedly boarded a Freedom Boat Club cruise ship after the club closed, Lee Gordon, a spokesman for the club’s owner, the Brunswick Corporation, told Fox News Digital.
Freedom Boat Club operates as a membership-based alternative to boat ownership with hundreds of locations worldwide.
SPORTS FISHING BOAT VIOLENTLY CRASHED INTO MESCHUTT BEACH PIER, FOUR INJURED
A damaged pleasure boat sits near the dock at Boston’s Logan International Airport following the Wednesday night crash that killed former Union College football player Elizabeth “Lizzie” Dankert, according to Massachusetts State Police. (Boston Emergency Medical Services)
“The vessel involved was taken without permission and operated without the Club’s knowledge and control, long after the Club had closed for the day,” Gordon said. “This activity did not occur within the scope of normal Club operations or established protocols governing access to and use of our vessels.
“We are cooperating fully with all relevant authorities as we work to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident,” he added.
Boston EMS said in a Facebook post that crews responded to the crash overnight under difficult conditions, including darkness and slippery shoreline rocks near the pier.
Emergency crews worked with Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) fire crews to rescue four people, including a critically injured patient, from the rocks.
CAL STATE FULLERTON FOOTBALL PLAYER, 19, DIES FROM INJURIES RECEIVED IN ELECTRIC SCOOTER ACCIDENT
A former college student athlete died late Wednesday night when a recreational speedboat crashed into a pier near the runway at Logan International Airport. (Getty Images, File)
Following the accident, the driver of the boat, 40-year-old Lawrence Shieh, and two of Dankert’s friends, 23, were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital.
Three people suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to WCVB.
“Lizzie was an outstanding student-athlete who made a tremendous impact during her four years at Union College,” school spokesman Phillip Wajda said in a statement to Boston 25. he said.
“His passing is a profound loss for our campus community,” he added.
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The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office is continuing its investigation into the crash.
The attorney’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
