A 24-year-old former student-athlete died in a boating crash in Massachusetts after she and her friends allegedly hijacked a boat without authorization before it crashed into a dock.
Former Union College football player Elizabeth “Lizzie” Dankert was killed when a recreational motorboat crashed on a dock near the runway at Logan International Airport around 11:30 Wednesday night, according to Massachusetts State Police.
The fatal accident has drawn attention after authorities said the gang allegedly hijacked the boat without authorization hours after the rowing club closed for the night.
Lee Gordon, a spokesperson for the company that owns the Liberty Boat Club, told Fox Digital News that Dankert and her friends were in Boston’s Seaport District that night and allegedly boarded the Liberty Boat Club’s vessel after it closed.
Liberty Boat Club is a membership-based boat ownership alternative with hundreds of locations around the world.
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Former Union College football player Elizabeth “Lizzie” Dankert was killed in an accident Wednesday night when a damaged recreational boat was moored near a dock at Boston’s Logan International Airport, according to Massachusetts State Police.
(Fox News)
“The vessel involved in the incident was seized without authorization and was operated without the club’s knowledge and control, well after the club had closed for the day,” Gordon said. “This activity did not occur within the normal scope of the club’s operations and did not occur within the established protocols governing access to and use of our vessels.
He added: “We are cooperating fully with all relevant authorities who are working to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.”
Boston EMS said in a Facebook post that crews responded to the incident overnight in difficult conditions, including darkness and slippery shoreline rocks near the pier.
First responders, working with Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) fire crews, rescued four people, including one with serious injuries, from the rocks.
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A former college student-athlete was killed after a recreational motorboat crashed on a dock near the runway at Logan International Airport late Wednesday night.
The boat driver, Lawrence Shieh, 40, and two of Dankert’s 23-year-old friends were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital after the accident.
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 told Boston 25 in a statement.
“Her passing is a tremendous loss to our campus community,” he added.
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The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office is continuing to investigate the crash.
The attorney’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Original source of the article: Former college football player dies in boat crash after suspected unauthorized hijacking of vessel