CONCORD, N.H. — A jury on Tuesday acquitted a business truck driver of inflicting the deaths of seven motorcyclists in a horrific head-on collision in northern New Hampshire that uncovered deadly flaws within the processing of license revocations throughout states.
Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 26, of West Springfield, Massachusetts, was discovered harmless on seven counts of manslaughter, seven counts of negligent murder and one depend of reckless conduct in reference to the June 21, 2019, crash in Randolph. Jailed for the reason that crash, he appeared to wipe away tears as the decision was learn and briefly raised his index finger skyward earlier than leaving the courtroom.
Jurors deliberated for lower than three hours after a two-week trial throughout which prosecutors argued that Zhukovskyy, who had taken heroin, fentanyl and cocaine that day, repeatedly swerved backwards and forwards earlier than the head-on crash and informed police he triggered it. However a decide dismissed eight expenses associated as to if he was impaired, and his attorneys blamed the lead biker, Albert “Woody” Mazza Jr., saying he was drunk and never trying the place he was going when he misplaced management of his motorbike and slid in entrance of Zhukovskyy’s truck.
“Our hearts exit to the victims and their households. Our trial group did a wonderful job and we firmly consider that the State proved its case past an inexpensive doubt,” New Hampshire Legal professional Normal John Formella stated in a press release.
Zhukovskyy’s household, a few of whom attended the trial, stated in a press release they have been grateful to God, the courtroom and the protection attorneys for an “trustworthy and truthful trial.”
“Our household expresses its deepest condolences to the household and buddies affected by this tragedy,” the household stated. “Our son and brother are very trustworthy and sort man. He would by no means have performed something to harm anybody.”
Zhukovskyy, who was born in Ukraine, remained jailed as of late Tuesday afternoon. It’s unclear when he may be launched. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued an immigration detainer on him after the crash and that was served on him following the decision, stated Ben Champagne, the superintendent on the Coos County Division of Corrections. He stated ICE now has 48 hours to detain Zhukovskyy. A spokesman for ICE didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
All seven motorcyclists killed have been members of the Jarheads Motorbike Membership. After the decision, a member of the Marine group reached by means of Fb declined to remark. Mazza’s father, additionally named Albert, stated he was shocked.
“Killing seven folks and he will get off. That’s unbelievable,” stated Mazza. He described his son as a “good man” who devoted a lot of his time to charity, and stated it was improper to pin blame on him.
“It doesn’t make a lot sense,” he stated. “There are seven folks useless. There are seven households affected. It is unusual that he didn’t get one thing.”
The motorcyclists who died have been from New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island and ranged in age from 42 to 62. They have been half of a bigger group that had simply left a motel alongside U.S. Route 2 in Randolph.
Killed have been Mazza, of Lee, New Hampshire; Edward and Jo-Ann Corr, a pair from Lakeville, Massachusetts; Michael Ferazzi, of Contoocook, New Hampshire; Desma Oakes, of Harmony, New Hampshire; Daniel Pereira, of Riverside, Rhode Island; and Aaron Perry, of Farmington, New Hampshire.
In closing statements Tuesday morning, the 2 sides raised questions on who was extra “all over”: the trucker accused of swerving backwards and forwards throughout the street or the eyewitnesses accused of contradicting one another.
“These witnesses have been all over about what they recalled and what they claimed to have seen,” stated protection lawyer Jay Duguay.
Duguay additionally accused prosecutors of ignoring that their very own accident reconstruction unit contradicted their principle that Zhukovskyy crossed into the oncoming lane. An professional employed by the protection, in the meantime, testified that the crash occurred on the middle line of the street and would have occurred even when the truck was in the midst of its lane as a result of Mazza’s motorbike was heading in that route.
“From the start of this investigation, the state had made up their thoughts about what had occurred, proof be damned,” stated Duguay, who additionally highlighted inconsistencies between witness accounts or when witnesses contradicted themselves.
Particularly, Duguay recommended that the bikers “shaded” their accounts to guard Mazza and the membership. Prosecutor Scott Chase acknowledged some inconsistencies, however requested jurors to recollect the circumstances.
“Folks have been protecting the useless, attempting to save lots of the hardly residing, comforting the dying. This wasn’t story time,” he stated. “They have been up right here speaking about a number of the most unimaginable chaos, trauma, loss of life and carnage that we are able to even think about three years later. They have been speaking about hell broke open.”
Witnesses have been constant, he argued, in describing the truck as weaving backwards and forwards earlier than the crash. That conduct continued “till he killed folks,” Chase stated.
“That’s what stopped him. It’s not that he made some accountable choice to start out paying consideration or do the suitable factor,” he stated. “The one factor that stopped him was an embankment after he tore by means of a gaggle of bikes.”
Chase known as the try and blame Mazza a “fanciful story” and “frivolous distraction,” whereas reminding jurors that Zhukovskyy, who didn’t testify at trial, informed investigators “Clearly, I triggered the crash.”
“He was crystal clear from the very starting that he triggered this crash,” Chase stated. “That’s what he stated, as a result of that’s what occurred.”
Zhukovskyy’s business driving license ought to have been revoked in Massachusetts on the time of the crash due to a drunken driving arrest in Connecticut about two months earlier.
Connecticut officers alerted the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Autos, however Zhukovkskyy’s license wasn’t suspended as a result of a backlog of out-of-state notifications about driving offenses. In a evaluation, federal investigators discovered related backlog issues in Rhode Island, New Hampshire and not less than six different jurisdictions.
Related Press writers Michael Casey and Kathy McCormack contributed to this report.
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