BOSTON (WHDH) - An investigation is underway into a deadly boat crash in the water near Logan Airport Wednesday night, which claimed the life of a 24-year-old woman and hurt the three others that were on board.
Captain Robert Cronin, a retired Master Mariner, owned a boat accident investigation firm. He said detectives had a lot of information to sort through in this case – and they will download the engine’s information, sort through cellphone data, look for surveillance cameras, and talk to witnesses.
“You can certainly look at area of impact to decide, was speed excessive for the conditions and the area they were in?” Cronin said. “I would probably be looking at blood alcohol count since we’re talking time of night, weather conditions that somebody would go out in, and location of where they were.”
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said Elizabeth “Lizzie” Dankert, of Andover, was pronounced dead at Massachusetts General Hospital after the boat crashed at Logan Aiport Pier 4R at approximately 11:20 p.m. on Wednesday.
Dankert was with two 23-year-old friends a 40-year-old man who was operating the boat when it hit a concrete structure, throwing the four passengers onto rocks near the shore, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
The boat is owned by Freedom Boat Club, where members can access boats without owning and maintaining them. A spokesperson for the club told 7NEWS the operator did not work for the club, and took the boat after hours without permission.
“They’re going to have to determine first how the operator got in possession of this vessel,” Cronin said.
A lifelong friend of Dankert’s shared an emotional statement, writing, “For 24 years, we were more than next-door neighbors — we were inseparable. We grew up side by side, sharing every phase of life together. When I think of my childhood, I think of us…I am heartbroken.”
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)