Truck driver who killed seven motorcycles in 2019 horrific accident acquitted

Concord, New Hampshire — Jury found seven motorcyclists dead Tuesday A commercial truck driver was acquitted. A horrific head-on collision in northern New Hampshire has exposed a fatal flaw in the statewide handling of license revocations.

His 26-year-old Volodymyr, who lives in Springfield, Massachusetts, his Zhukovsky, seven counts of manslaughter in connection with the June 21, 2019 Randolph crash, He was acquitted of seven counts of manslaughter and one count of reckless conduct. Imprisoned since the crash, he appeared to wipe away tears as the verdict was read and raised his index finger slightly to the sky before leaving the courtroom. was done in less than three hours and told police he caused it. However, a judge dismissed his eight charges related to whether he was disabled, and his attorney said he was drunk and Reed accused his biker Albert "Woody" Mazza Jr. of not seeing where he was going. In front of Zhukovsky's truck.

“Our hearts go out to the victims and their families. I do," New Hampshire Attorney General John Formera said. statement.

Some of Zhukovsky's family members attended the Trial.

"Our family extends our deepest condolences to the families and friends affected by this tragedy."

Born in Ukraine, Zhukovsky said late Tuesday afternoon He remained incarcerated at the time. It was unclear when he would be released. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued him immigration detention after the crash, which led to his execution following his verdict, according to Ben Champagne, director of the Coos County Department of Corrections.

ICE said in a statement that Zhukovsky had been notified to appear before an immigration officer and that he would be detained by ICE pending the outcome of his appearance. He didn't say where he was being held.

All seven of his motorcyclists killed were members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club. Members of the Marine Corps who were contacted via Facebook after the verdict declined to comment. Mazza's father, also named Albert, said he was stunned.

"Killing seven people, he got off. I can't believe it," Mazza said. He described his son as a "good man" who devoted much of his time to charity, and said it was wrong to accuse him.

"It doesn't make much sense," he said. Told. "Seven people died. There are seven affected family members. It's strange that he got nothing." State origin, age ranged from he was 42 to he was 62. They were part of a large group that had just left a highway 2 motel in Randolph.

Maza of Lee, New Hampshire, was killed. Couple Edward and Joan Coar from Lakeville, Massachusetts. Michael Ferrazzi of Contooke, New Hampshire. Desma Oakes from Concord, New Hampshire. Daniel Pereira of Riverside, Rhode Island. Aaron Perry of Farmington, New Hampshire.

In their final statements Tuesday morning, both sides raised questions as to which was more "all over the place."

"Witnesses were all over the place about what they remembered or claimed to have seen," said defense attorney Jay Duguay.

Duguay also accused prosecutors of ignoring the contradiction of their own accident reconstruction unit with their theory that Zhukovsky crossed oncoming traffic. An expert hired by the defense testified that the collision occurred on the center line of the road and that Mazza's motorcycle was heading in that direction, even though the truck was in the middle of the lane.[44]

"From the beginning of this investigation, the state had made a decision as to what happened. The evidence was discarded," Duguay said, noting that there were discrepancies between eyewitness testimony and how witnesses contradicted each other.

Duguay in particular suggested that bikers "hide" their accounts to protect Mazza and the club. Prosecutor Scott Chase acknowledged some inconsistencies, but asked the jury to remember the situation. and trying to comfort a dying person.This was not story time," he said. "They were talking here about the most unimaginable chaos, trauma, death and carnage we could even imagine three years later. They were talking about hell opening."

Witnesses consistently described the truck swaying back and forth before the crash, he claimed. The behavior continued "until he killed a man," Chase said.

"That's what stopped him. It's not like he started paying attention or made a responsible decision to do the right thing," he said. "The only thing that stopped him was the embankment after he tore up a group of motorcycles." "It was a frivolous distraction," and reminded jurors that Zhukovsky, who did not testify at trial, told investigators, "Obviously, I caused the crash."

"From the beginning, he made it clear that he caused this crash," Chase said. "It happened, so that's what he said."

Following a DUI arrest in Connecticut about two months ago, Massachusetts denied Zhukovski's commercial driver's license at the time of the crash. The testimony should have been revoked.

Connecticut officials alerted the Massachusetts Department of Motor Vehicles, but Zhukovski's license was not suspended due to delays in out-of-state notification of the driving violation. In a review, federal investigators found similar backlog problems in Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and at least six other jurisdictions.