Zhukovskyy not guilty of all charges in crash that killed 7

Aug. 9—The truck driver accused of killing seven motorcyclists in a 2019 crash in Randolph was found not guilty of negligent homicide, manslaughter and reckless conduct by a jury on Tuesday.

After deliberating less than three hours, the Coos County jury found Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 26, of West Springfield, Mass., not guilty on all counts. Zhukovskyy appeared to wipe tears from his eyes as the forewoman repeated "not guilty" on charge after charge. He looked up and pointed to the sky.

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

But when the case finally landed in the hands of a jury, Zhukovskyy was acquitted.

He has been jailed without bail for more than three years, arrested three days after the June 21, 2019 crash.

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.

Gov. Chris Sununu slammed the jury's verdict, calling the verdict a "tragedy."

"I share in the shock, outrage, and anger that so many have expressed in the three years since the seven members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club were taken from us," Sununu said in a statement. "My heart goes out to their families, friends, and loved ones on this especially dark day."

End of a three-year prosecution

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 prosecutors' narrative, suggesting motorcyclist Albert "Woody" Mazza, the president of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, lost control of his cycle and crashed into Zhukovskyy.

In closing arguments Tuesday, Zhukovskyy's defense attorneys pointed to inconsistencies in witness' statements.

"That's the primary problem from relying on eyewitness testimony, and the reason why scientific accident reconstruction is necessary."

The defense referred to the testimony of a crash reconstruction analyst with Scientific Boston who analyzed the scene for the defense.

"It's also not a secret that Al Mazza was drinking," the defense said.

Prosecutors leaned on Zhukovskyy's statements to police the morning of the crash and on testimony from witnesses and survivors of the crash.

"There is no question he caused the crash," the prosecution said Tuesday. "He admitted it."

The prosecution reminded the jury of Zhukovskyy's initial conversation with state police after the crash occurred. Zhukovskyy told authorities he caused the crash and that he wasn't paying attention, according to police recordings presented in court.

State police testified in court that they had not observed signs of impairment in Zhukovskyy.

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.

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.

Material from MassLive.com was used in this report.