The trial of a West Springfield man accused of killing seven motorcyclists during a crash in Randolph, New Hampshire, continues in New Hampshire Superior Court on Monday morning.
Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 26, faces seven negligent homicide charges, seven manslaughter charges and a single reckless conduct charge.
Members of Jarhead Motorcycles Club were traveling eastbound on the highway when they collided with Zhukovskyy who was traveling westbound in a truck towing an empty flatbed trailer.
Last week on Wednesday, after the prosecution rested its case, a New Hampshire judge dismissed eight charges related to operating under the influence of drugs due to insufficient evidence from the prosecution. Zhukovskyy had told police he had taken heroin and cocaine during the morning of the crash, but the prosecution was unable to produce sufficient evidence that he was impaired at the time of the crash more than 10 hours later.
Zhukovskyy’s defense attorneys opened up their case on Thursday stating that some of the motorcycle drivers who were killed were driving under the influence of alcohol and caused the crash.
Seven members of the motorcycle club were killed in the crash and several others were injured. Those killed in the crash included Michael Ferazzi, 62, of Contoocook, New Hampshire; Albert Mazza Jr., 59, of Lee, New Hampshire; Desma Oakes, 42, of Concord, New Hampshire; Aaron Perry, 45, of Farmington, New Hampshire; Daniel Pereira, 58, of Riverside, Rhode Island; and Jo-Ann and Edward Corr, both 58, of Lakeville, Massachusetts.
Steve Mirkin, Zhukovskyy’s attorney, said the president of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, Albert “Woody” Mazza Jr., who led the pack of riders, lost control of his motorcycle and collided with Zhukovskyy’s truck first, causing the crash.
The defense attorney claims that Mazza had been drinking and his blood-alcohol level was close to twice the legal limit of .08 in New Hampshire. Federal investigators found that some of the bikers and passengers were impaired by alcohol, but claim it wasn’t the reason for the crash.
“Drunk drivers kill,” Mirkin said during a previous hearing.
The prosecution claims Zhukovskyy “weaved back and forth repeatedly” before the head-on crash on U.S. Route 2 in Randolph.
Zhukovskyy’s defense called Adam Bartley, of Jefferson, New Hampshire, to the stand on Thursday. Bartley was driving behind Zhukovskyy the day of the crash.
Bartley told the court he never saw the truck Zhukovskyy was driving swerving or crossing lines. He also testified saying he was a few cars behind Zhukovskyy and never actually saw the moment of impact.
On Friday, the ninth day of Zhukovskyy’s trial, the defense called New Hampshire State Troopers Brandon Girardi and Daniel Quartulli to the stand.
New Hampshire State Trooper Brandon Girardi said the crash that killed Mazza and six other members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club was ‘largely unavoidable.’”
Girardi took part in the post-crash analysis and some scene reconstruction and analysis.
In the course of that work, Girardi determined that Zhukovskyy and Mazza, who led the pack of motorcyclists, would have only seen each other three seconds before the fatal collision.
“It wasn’t until two seconds away from the collision on both persons’ ends when they would have actually been able to perceive each other as an imminent threat to one another,” Girardi said.
The average human’s perception reaction time is only 1.5 or 1.6 seconds, according to Girardi.
“In my opinion, (the impact) was largely unavoidable based off the circumstances,” Girardi said in court Friday. “But, depending on either party we know that there was possible impairment issues on both ends and that could have skewed that time, that could have slowed or delayed their reaction time.”
Trooper Quartulli was responsible for mapping the scene of the crash, he addressed the location of the truck and motorcycles at the time of the crash.
Quartulli said he initially identified a mark at the scene as an avoidance maneuver by the motorcycle which would have put the truck “a distance over the centerline upon impacting the motorcycles.”
Upon further investigation of the mark it was determined to be a flat tire mark, according to Quartulli.
“With that mark not being from a motorcycle and knowing the characteristics of the crash, it puts the truck further towards the centerline than I initially would have believed,” he said.
Related Content:
- Volodymyr Zhukovskyy trial: New Hampshire State Trooper called by defense said crash that killed 7 motorcyclists was ‘largely unavoidable’
- Volodymyr Zhukovskyy trial: Defense attorney says lead motorcyclist was drunk and is at fault in New Hampshire crash that killed 7
- Volodymyr Zhukovskyy trial: Judge dismisses 8 charges against driver accused of killing 7 motorcyclists in New Hampshire crash
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