The driver of a pickup truck towing a car carrier that collided with a group of motorcyclists in the town of Randolph five years ago is receiving the maximum suspension of his driver’s license allowed under state law.
Volodymyr Zhukovskyy’s driving privileges were temporarily suspended in the days following the June 2019 crash that killed seven people, all members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, which includes U.S. Marines and their supporters. Zhukovskyy admitted to ingesting cocaine and heroin the morning of the collision. The lead motorcyclist, Albert Mazza, was also over the legal alcohol limit at the time of the crash on Route 2.
Zhukovskyy was found not guilty of negligent homicide and DUI charges during his criminal trial. Last September, he filed an appeal with the Department of Motor Vehicles to have his New Hampshire driving privileges reinstated.
But an administrative ruling released Wednesday found that Zhukovskyy’s license should be suspended for seven years retroactive to the date of the crash, the maximum penalty under state law.
“This is an accident that did not have to occur,” Ryan McFarland, the hearings officer wrote.
Multiple witnesses saw Zhukovskyy driving erratically in the hours leading up to the crash. Zhukovskyy was also involved in a crash in Texas just months before the Randolph incident, and was already facing a driving under the influence charge in Connecticut that should have resulted in his license being formally suspended.
Zhukovskky has 30 days to appeal the decision to a superior court. If he accepts the suspension, he can seek the return of his driving privileges in June 2027, but will need to first take a six hour driver training course, and provide a letter from a drug and alcohol counselor following an evaluation.
Zhukovskyy appeared remotely during two separate administrative hearings earlier this year, as the state argued that it could not guarantee his safety should he appear in person. Family and friends of those killed in the crash testified that their lives were forever changed, and that Zhukovskyy remained a threat to motorists, should he be allowed to drive again.
“A driver’s license is a privilege,” McFarland wrote in his report, “and operators must appreciate that privilege and the great responsibility that goes along with that privilege.”
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