A Boston finance executive has pleaded not guilty to charges including involuntary manslaughter after a boat crash in Boston Harbor killed 24-year-old footballer Elizabeth Dankert and seriously injured the other people aboard. Prosecutors allege that Lawrence Shieh, 41, was intoxicated and removed both hands from the wheel to dance shortly before the vessel struck a pier at Logan International Airport; the case highlights the alleged risks of impaired and inattentive boating.

Authorities say the boat was travelling at about 36mph shortly after 11pm on 13 May when it hit the Runway 4R pier, throwing all four occupants overboard. Prosecutors allege Shieh’s blood alcohol level was 0.2 roughly an hour later and that he had taken a Freedom Boat Club vessel without authorisation after dark; Dankert died in hospital the following morning from a skull fracture. Shieh was released on $25,000 bail, subject to restrictions including no boating or alcohol consumption while the case continues.