Boston Boxer Killed in Accident
Paul Dalrymple
by Laura Brown
Boston Herald
Thursday, June 8, 2000
A well-known South Boston boxing champion was struck and killed by a
tractor-trailer Tuesday as he walked back to his Big Dig construction job
from lunch, officials said.
Frank Shea Jr., 26, who made his pro boxing debut in 1996 with his identical
twin brother, Derek, was pinned against a jersey barrier by a turning mail
truck on Dorchester Avenue and died a short time later from severe trauma.
``He just had a zest for life,'' said his father, Frank Shea Sr.
``Everything was coming into place for this kid.''
The driver of the tractor-trailer, which is owned by Swift Transportation,
told investigators he never saw Shea, said Boston Police Department
spokeswoman Brigitte Walsh. The accident is under investigation.
Shea was a member of the Laborer's Union, Local 223, working for CRC
Concrete connecting two sets of Big Dig tunnels that will carry traffic
between the Southeast Expressway and the Ted Williams Tunnel.
A five-time Golden Gloves winner, Shea also held three national Junior
Olympic gold medals, his family said.
He started boxing at the McDonough Gym in South Boston and moved on to the
Somerville Boxing Club, where he trained with Ernie McKinley. He was a
graduate of South Boston High School.
Shea won his first pro match as a junior lightweight in December 1996, the
same night his brother won his first pro bout in the featherweight class.
The twins were nearly inseparable for most of their lives, family members
said.
The boxer's aunt, Donna Feeney, said her nephew had recently gotten engaged,
and just took a trip to Florida with his mother, who has been very sick.
``It's just tragic,'' Feeney said. ``It's a stupid accident and I just don't
understand how it happened.''
Shea is survived by a son, Jacob, his parents, Frank D. Shea Sr. and Dorothy
(O'Toole) Shea, his brothers Derek and Lance, his grandparents, Leona and
John McLaughlin, and many aunts and uncles.
A wake will be held tomorrow at the O'Brien Funeral Home in South Boston.