The driver of a pick-up truck that crashed into a group of motorcycles in Randolph last June killing seven people is requesting a bail hearing.
Volodymyr Zhukovskyy of West Springfield, Massachusetts was indicted on 23 different charges, including seven counts of manslaughter and driving under the influence of a narcotic, for his role in the collision.
Prosecutors allege the 25-year old drifted over the center line on Route 2, striking members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, which is made up of Marine Corps members and their families.
After initially waiving a bail hearing, lawyers for Zhukovskyy filed a motion this week arguing that a state police accident report was “deeply flawed” and that he should be released pending trial.
Lawyers for Zhukovskyy contend that an independent report from an accident reconstruction firm shows that the initial impact wasn’t in the eastbound lane, as prosecutors originally claimed, but occurred “directly over the center line” and that the motorcycle driven by Albert Mazza, who was killed in the accident, “was in fact protruding over onto the center line when it struck the truck.”
“Given the dramatically different factual circumstances as they are known at this time, Mr. Zhukovskyy respectfully requests an evidentiary hearing on the continuing need forpreventative detention,” write Jay Duguay and Steve Mirkin, public defenders assigned to the case.
The defendant’s motion further alleges that Mazza was looking back at the group of riders just prior to the accident, and that an autopsy on Mazza showed an elevated blood alcohol level.
Prosecutors have ten days to respond to the hearing request. Zhukovskyy claims he would not present a danger to himself or the public.
The accident led to an investigation of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, which failed to process a previous DUI notification that should have triggered a suspension of Zhukovskyy’s commercial driver’s license. New Hampshire DMV officials later disclosed that it also had a substantial backlog of unprocessed out-of-state notifications.
An estimated 4,500 riders gathered to celebrate the lives of those killed during an event last July, travelling from Laconia to Randolph for the “Ride for the Fallen 7.”
