Posted on 06/25/2019 6:30:07 AM PDT by woodbutcher1963
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The driver of a pickup truck that collided Friday night with a group of motorcyclists, killing seven people and injuring three others, has returned to New Hampshire to face negligent homicide charges.
Volodoymyr Zhukovskyy, 23, of West Springfield, Massachusetts, faced a judge Monday afternoon in Massachusetts and waived his extradition to New Hampshire. He is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Coos County Superior Court in Lancaster, New Hampshire.
Prosecutors said Zhukovskyy was driving a 2016 Dodge pickup truck that crashed into a group of motorcyclists on Route 2 in Randolph. Seven people were killed, and three more were hurt.
Zhukovskyy was arrested at his home in Massachusetts on a fugitive from justice charge that was dismissed Monday afternoon after he agreed to extradition to New Hampshire.
"This is a tragedy," defense attorney Donald Frank said. "This is a real tragedy for all of those families. I read the newspaper accounts. I don't know anything more about it than that, but he is still innocent until proven guilty. I hope that everyone respects that."
Local, state and federal agencies are investigating the crash. Coos County Attorney John McCormick said there was enough evidence to bring charges against Zhukovskyy.
"We looked at the evidence carefully," McCormick said. "State troopers and investigators have been working around the clock for the last three days since Friday when this even unfolded, and we had probable cause and we made an arrest."
Prosecutors have not released the evidence that led to the charges and have filed a motion to seal the probable cause affidavit, saying the investigation is ongoing.
All seven of those killed were on motorcycles, and they were all members or supporters of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, which is made up of Marine veterans.
The victims were identified as: •Michael Ferazzi, 62, of Contoocook •Albert Mazza, 59, of Lee •Desma Oakes, 42, of Concord •Aaron Perry, 45, of Farmington •Daniel Pereira, 58, of Riverside, Rhode Island •Jo-Ann and Edward Corr, both 58, of Lakeville, Massachusetts
Two of the people who were injured were later released from the hospital, and the third, 45-year-old Joshua Morin of Dalton, Massachusetts, is at Maine Medical Center. Morin is listed in stable condition.
>> Link: GoFundMe page to support victims' families
News 9 has learned that Zhukovskyy appeared in a Springfield courtroom in April 2012 on charges of unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and speeding. The three charges were dismissed.
He also made an appearance in court in 2017 on two drug charges. He pleaded guilty and paid a fine.
Last month, he was arrested in Connecticut and charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and drugs. According to The Associated Press, Zhukovskyy was charged in 2013 with drunken driving in Westfield, Massachusetts.
“Last month, he was arrested in Connecticut and charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and drugs. According to The Associated Press, Zhukovskyy was charged in 2013 with drunken driving in Westfield, Massachusetts”
TWO DUI ARRESTS. The second one probably has not gone to trial.
They will hang that rascal for sure...
Every time a state repeals the death penalty, they make a declaration that their citizens lives are worth less than the lives of a perp, no matter how demented or long their rap sheets.
How do we bring this reign of terror to an end?
i know associates of this guys lawyer. He is the head of the public defenders office. This was a case of, “I don’t want to know anything about what’s happened. You ARE going to NH. My advice is don’t fight it.”
This kid is in deep doo doo.
I’ll go out on a limb here and say the “unlicensed” charge that was dropped was for no CDL A. This time the pick-up he was driving was pulling a gooseneck trailer that was well over the GVW for a CDL requirement. He probably will turn up again with no CDL A because of an addiction problem. He also was driving a vehicle out of state that requires a CDL. A CDL driver running interstate requires drug testing. He and the company are in major trouble.
Lots of “hot shots” and private owners are breaking the law hauling these trailers.
I just want to see justice done ... for once .... for a change.
I want to know if he is illegal.
Since he is 23 now he would have been 16 in 2012. It is highly unlikely he was driving a commercial vehicle then - he may even have been too young to have a license.
“I want to know if he is illegal.”
You read my mind! Or if his parents, of he has any, were illegals?
Odds are more than likely it was drugs this time, too.
“Eyewitness account from one of the riders:
“He turned hard left into us and took out pretty much everyone behind me.
The truck and trailer stayed attached and that is why it was so devastating ... because the trailer was attached and it was such a big trailer, it was like a whip.
It just cleaned us out.”
He has a “green card”
Premeditated murder, multiple counts, if he turned left willfully.
The transportation company will be filing for bankruptcy protection within the hour.
THEIR INSURANCE COMPANY is going to get hit for the maximum of their liability coverage from wrongful deaths lawsuits.
In the case of the NY limo crash, I believe the insurance was only 1 million, not a lot to be divided up among almost 20 victims.
An account from one of the riders stated he went over the double yellow line and then jerked back the wheel causing the trailer to jackknife.
I doubt it was intentional. More likely he was distracted for some reason. Route 2 is a pretty wide open east/west road. Plenty of room to hit 55-65 mph. All it takes is a second to travel a few hundred feet. IF he looked down to check his phone, play with the radio, dropped his cigarette, etc, etc. It is most likely just a horrible accident that he will pay for, for the rest of his life.
I live in southern NH. A few years back a 60 something year old man went out to get his mail and newspaper at the end of his driveway in Amherst, NH. He had lived in this house for 30+ years. It was the day before Christmas. He was hit by a 20 year old young man on the way home that lived in the next town. The older man was killed. Dead on the snowbank on the side of the road right next to his mailbox. The young man had been texting.
True, that is why the transportation company will file for bankruptcy protection. They will not have enough coverage for SEVEN wrongful death lawsuits.
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