Truck driver in fatal 2019 motorcycle crash faces extradition

The truck driver involved in a 2019 fatal New Hampshire crash with seven motorcycles now faces extradition to Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 27, of West Springfield, Mass., was acquitted of criminal charges filed against him after the June 21, 2019, crash. The collision in Randolph, N.H., killed seven members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, an organization of Marine Corps veterans and their spouses.

Zhukovskyy had been charged with seven counts of manslaughter, seven counts of negligent homicide and one count of reckless conduct. A jury deliberated less than three hours before acquitting him.

Through his attorney, Zhukovskyy sought asylum, according to The Associated Press. He came to the U.S. when he was 10 years old, and his attorneys said he has permanent residency status.

However, on Feb. 3, the immigration judge ordered Zhukovskyy’s removal, according to the Executive Office for Immigration Review.

Zhukovskyy, who has been held in Pennsylvania, has until March 8 to file an appeal.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ordered Zhukovskyy to be detained after the 2019 crash, and he was picked up following the verdict on Aug. 9 in New Hampshire. From the time of the crash to the verdict, he had been jailed in New Hampshire.

Motorcyclists from New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island died in the accident.

Prosecutors argued that Zhukovskyy – who had taken heroin, fentanyl and cocaine earlier on the day of the crash – repeatedly swerved back and forth before the collision and told police he caused it, the AP article stated. However, a judge dismissed eight charges related to whether he was impaired, and his attorneys blamed the lead biker, Albert “Woody” Mazza Jr., saying he was drunk and not looking where he was going when he lost control of his motorcycle and slid in front of Zhukovskyy’s truck.

Ukraine, Zhukovskyy’s homeland, was attacked by Russia on Feb. 24, 2022. According to the Bookings Institute, the United Nations reported 7.6 million Ukrainian refugees across Europe in October 2022 because of the war. LL

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