Former college soccer player killed in boat crash after group allegedly took vessel without authorization

A 24-year-old former student-athlete was killed in a boat crash in Massachusetts after she and her friends allegedly took a vessel without authorization before it crashed into a pier.

Elizabeth "Lizzie" Dankert, a former soccer player at Union College, was killed after a recreational powerboat crashed into a pier near a runway at Logan International Airport around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to Massachusetts State Police.

The fatal crash drew attention after authorities said the group allegedly took the boat without authorization hours after the boating club had closed for the night.

Dankert and her friends were in Boston’s Seaport District that night when they allegedly boarded a Freedom Boat Club vessel after the club had closed, according to Lee Gordon, a spokesperson for Brunswick Corporation, which owns the club, told Fox News Digital.

Freedom Boat Club operates as a membership-based alternative to boat ownership with hundreds of locations worldwide.

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"The vessel involved in the incident was taken without authorization and operated outside the knowledge and control of the Club, well after the Club had closed for the day," Gordon said. "This activity did not occur within normal Club operations or established protocols governing access to and use of our vessels.

"We are cooperating fully with all relevant authorities as they work to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident," he added.

Boston EMS said in a Facebook post that crews responded to the crash overnight in difficult conditions, including darkness and slippery shoreline rocks near the pier.

EMTs worked with Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) fire crews to extricate four people from the rocks, including one critically injured patient.

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Following the crash, the boat’s driver, Lawrence Shieh, 40, and two of Dankert’s 23-year-old friends were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital. 

The three suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to WCVB.

"Lizzie was an exceptional student-athlete who had a tremendous impact during her four years at Union College," school spokesperson Phillip Wajda told Boston 25 in a statement.

"Her passing is a profound loss for our campus community," he added.

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.