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Zhukovskyy not guilty in crash that killed fallen 7


ckf

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I didn't follow the case very closely over the past couple of years. From what I had read the court of public opinion had him convicted.

 

https://www.unionleader.com/news/courts/zhukovskyy-not-guilty-of-all-charges-in-crash-that-killed-7/article_a8ec4f0a-8abe-5f69-90b2-2ff7bbe712c7.html?block_id=1120512

The truck driver accused of killing seven motorcyclists in a 2019 crash in Randolph was found not guilty of all charges on Tuesday.

After deliberating less than three hours, the Coos County jury found Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 26, of West Springfield, Mass., not guilty on all 15 counts, including manslaughter, negligent homicide and reckless conduct.

The full acquittal marked a dramatic shift from three years of public judgment against Zhukovskyy.

 

As the jury forewoman read the “not guilty” verdicts, Zhukovskyy wiped away tears and pointed at the sky.

Friends and families of the seven motorcyclists who died in the crash gasped as the verdicts were read. “How do you (expletive) sleep at night?” one woman asked aloud.

In the weeks and months after the crash, investigators and state officials showed little doubt of Zhukovskyy’s culpability.

The National Transportation Safety Board declared in a 2020 report that Zhukovskyy was under the influence of heroin and cocaine and had crossed the center line of the highway, striking the group of 22 motorcyclists and passengers.

Zhukovskyy became the poster child of an investigation into record-keeping at the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, after the registry failed to suspend Zhukovskyy’s license to drive following a Connecticut crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board also termed the now-closed trucking company that employed Zhukovskyy a “safety hazard” for failing to check Zhukovskyy’s driving history before he was hired.

Re-examination of the initial state police report on the crash site pointed to Zhukovskyy driving straight on Route 2, with motorcyclist Albert “Woody” Mazza veering across the center line of the highway.

End of a three-year prosecution

Zhukovskyy has been held without bail since he was arrested on June 24, 2019, three days after the crash.

Initially, Zhukovskyy faced 23 criminal charges: seven negligent homicide charges, seven manslaughter charges and a single reckless conduct charge and eight charges related to driving under the influence.

Prosecutors alleged Zhukovskyy had been driving under the influence and crossed the center line of the highway, crashing into the group of motorcyclists early in the morning.

But during the trial, defense attorneys complicated the prosecutors’ narrative, suggesting Mazza, the president of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, lost control of his bike and crashed into Zhukovskyy.

Along with Mazza, the crash killed Michael Ferazzi of Contoocook; Desma Oakes of Concord; Aaron Perry of Farmington; Daniel Pereira of Riverside, R.I.; and Jo-Ann and Edward Corr of Lakeville, Mass.

In closing arguments Tuesday, defense attorney Jay Duguay told jurors Tuesday that Mazza caused the accident because he was drunk, inattentive and crossed into Zhukovskyy.

Assistant Attorney General Scott Chase focused on Zhukovskyy’s statements to police just after the crash, saying he thought he caused the crash.

 

He conceded that Mazza’s intoxication represented “a poor choice,” but that it “didn’t have anything to do with the crash.”

Mazza was “an easy target” for the defense, said Chase, who told jurors that the evidence of Zhukovskyy’s guilt was “beyond-a-reasonable-doubt clear.”

State police testified in court that they had not observed signs of impairment in Zhukovskyy, who had admitted to using drugs about 10 hours before the crash.

Last week, Judge Peter Bornstein dismissed eight additional charges related to driving under the influence. The judge stated the prosecution had failed to produce sufficient evidence to support them.

On Tuesday, the defense and prosecution delivered closing arguments, and the jury began deliberating at 11:45 a.m. The jury returned the verdicts at 2:40 p.m.

Attorney General John Formella said in a statement he was disappointed but respected the verdict and system of justice.

“Our trial team did an excellent job and we firmly believe the state proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt,” Formella said.

Gov. Chris Sununu slammed the jury’s verdict.

“The fallen seven did not receive justice today, and that is an absolute tragedy,” Sununu said in a statement.

Robin Melone, head of the New Hampshire Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, praised the two public defenders who represented Zhukovskyy, Jay Duguay and Steve Mirkin, but said the state based its charges on “a faulty” accident reconstruction.

“I think they made a conclusion and then built a case around that conclusion,” she said.

Still jailed
 

After his dramatic acquittal Tuesday, Zhukovskyy did not walk free.

After his acquittal, Zhukovskyy was held on an “immigration detainer” from Immigration and Customs Enforcement — meaning, the federal immigration agency intends to assume custody of Zhukovskyy. Zhukovskyy and his family immigrated to the U.S. when Zhukovskyy was 10.

Zhukovskyy will spend Tuesday night in the Grafton County House of Corrections, according to Chief Deputy Jerry Marcoux of the Coos County Sheriff’s Department. It is not clear when he will be placed in ICE custody.

According to a 2019 report from the Boston Herald, Zhukovskyy had legal permanent residency in the United States, or a “green card.”

But Zhukovskyy is a citizen of Ukraine, and had faced potential deportation stemming from earlier arrests.

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17 minutes ago, steve from amherst said:

saw that 

Not really surprised after reading the last few days of trial.

 

1 minute ago, Mainecat said:

The Jarheads had been at a bar for hours then went back to their camp and were headed over to another bar when the accident happened. Seems everyone involved was intoxicated.

I just recall when everyone had him convicted right after it happened.

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Just now, ckf said:

 

I just recall when everyone had him convicted right after it happened.

I had to read it to remember the story, and yes, that was the sentiment across the country in the MSM - just goes to show, they push what ever they think at the time, NEVER based on facts.

Edited by Mag6240
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48 minutes ago, ckf said:

 

I just recall when everyone had him convicted right after it happened.

Articles made it sound like a cut and dry case.  Nothing about the bikers being drunk.  Wow. Crazy outcome.  Not that this truck driver was in any way a model citizen. Still.

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1 minute ago, DriftBusta said:

Articles made it sound like a cut and dry case.  Nothing about the bikers being drunk.  Wow. Crazy outcome.  Not that this truck driver was in any way a model citizen. Still.

Lots of blame to go around. This accident likely doesn't happen if Massachusetts DMV had done it's job.

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Just now, EvilBird said:

Wow not what I expected 

so if the first bike caused the accident how did the rest of them continue to crash into the truck ? 

 

Did I originally read it was on a curve?  The truck probably lost traction hitting the first bike and continued to push across the lanes into the oncoming bikers.  Not to mention, how many times have you come up on a group of bikers, all riding within a few feet of each other.  I never quite understood that when a faster vehicle comes up behind them, its nearly impossible to go around them without going by the entire group on a single pass.

Horrible situation for everyone.

Edited by Mag6240
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We were talking about why bikers have to ride hugging the center line. Why? I've ridden probably 100k miles in my life and never could understand it. I'm sure both Mazza and the trucker had no reaction time to avoid each other and then the chain reaction. Just a tragedy.

Edited by J. Jackson
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Looks like Civil rights abuse in New Hampshire..

Three years for a speedy trial...wtf 

Held for three years w/o bail...

A case built on a faulty assumption...

New litigation should be filed against the 7 drunks + any state official connected to this judicial travesty.

 

 

 

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With a DUI in CT earlier that state should have taken his CDL and not passed it along to MA to do.  I know a guy right now that lost his CT CDL in MA over a DUI in MA and has to wait for MA to restore the license before he can reapply to CT, yes it's involved. All this happened well before the NH accident.

Once I learned the biker was twice the legal limit I figured it would be dropped with whiteness saying the bikes were also crossing center.  

In the end a guy who was high hit a guy who was drunk in the middle of the road and the law's for commerical driving changed and I expect more changes to follow. 

I'm really not sure why he was held three years without a conviction and since he's a US citizen it will be interesting to see what imagination has to say about it. 

 

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2 hours ago, Doomxz600 said:

With a DUI in CT earlier that state should have taken his CDL and not passed it along to MA to do.  I know a guy right now that lost his CT CDL in MA over a DUI in MA and has to wait for MA to restore the license before he can reapply to CT, yes it's involved. All this happened well before the NH accident.

Once I learned the biker was twice the legal limit I figured it would be dropped with whiteness saying the bikes were also crossing center.  

In the end a guy who was high hit a guy who was drunk in the middle of the road and the law's for commerical driving changed and I expect more changes to follow. 

I'm really not sure why he was held three years without a conviction and since he's a US citizen it will be interesting to see what imagination has to say about it. 

 

Citizen of Ukraine. us green card holder. After aquital he was sent to county jail on an immigration detainer . Waiting for feds to pick him up.

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13 minutes ago, steve from amherst said:

Citizen of Ukraine. us green card holder. After aquital he was sent to county jail on an immigration detainer . Waiting for feds to pick him up.

I followed that, just not sure if it will hold up.

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Massachusetts RMV should be held responsible, all the out of state correspondence was just stacked in an unused room cause the lazy fucks couldn't be bothered to do their jobs. 

The only good to come out of that was my speeding ticket in Maine never got processed and my insurance rates didn't go up. 

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I didn’t follow this case at all just the things I heard on the radio but I was shocked when I read it earlier. I was under the impression that it was all the drugged up truckers fault I didn’t know anything about the lead biker being hammered and basically caused the accident. It’s crazy this was a huge deal and talked about for weeks on radio and they never once said anything about that. I guess that’s my fault for listening to what the msm says and they wonder why no one believes anything anymore.

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2 minutes ago, Doomxz600 said:

Guess they want him deported but Ukraine dose not want him back

with no conviction here and just a previous DUI i think they will be hard pressed to expell him from the country.  SHould have rung him up on some drug charges if they wanted to do that.   

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  • Gold Member
1 hour ago, Doomxz600 said:

Guess they want him deported but Ukraine dose not want him back

Ukraine only wants US currency , not one of their drug addicted citizens back I guess :read:

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