In Hartford, Connecticut, a commercial truck driver linked to a tragic accident in New Hampshire in 2019 admitted guilt for a separate driving offense that occurred the previous month in Connecticut. This specific incident involved driving under the influence, a charge that should have led to his license being suspended.
Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, aged 29 and residing in West Springfield, Massachusetts, faced the Hartford Superior Court and opted for an Alford plea—an acknowledgment of the sufficiency of the evidence that results in a conviction without an admission of guilt. Consequently, he was given 18 months of probation. His attorney, John O’Brien, stated the significance of understanding this plea.
Appearing in court in casual attire, Zhukovskyy only spoke to confirm his plea through brief acknowledgments. In May 2019, Zhukovskyy was arrested in East Windsor, Connecticut, for erratic behavior linked to intoxication, including the influence of cocaine, leading to the failed sobriety tests. This incident wasn’t promptly communicated to the Massachusetts Registry due to administrative backlogs, allowing him to maintain his driving privileges.
Tragically, on June 21, 2019, while operating a truck with an attached trailer, Zhukovskyy was involved in a devastating collision with a group of motorcyclists near Randolph, New Hampshire, killing seven members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club—a group comprising Marine Corps veterans and their companions. The victims were Albert Mazza Jr., Edward and Jo-Ann Corr, Michael Ferazzi, Desma Oakes, Daniel Pereira, and Aaron Perry.
During a trial in 2022, Zhukovskyy was acquitted of several manslaughter and negligent homicide charges. Prosecutors insisted that Zhukovskyy was under the influence of multiple substances on the day of the crash and drove irresponsibly. However, impairment charges were dismissed, and defense attorneys highlighted the potential impairment of the lead motorcyclist, Mazza, who had a significant blood-alcohol content at the time.
Zhukovskyy, who moved to the U.S. from Ukraine as a child and holds permanent residency, faced deportation proceedings in 2023 following his trial, but these actions are currently stalled due to the conflict in Ukraine and a pause on repatriation flights.
His sentence in Connecticut includes obligations like completing 100 hours of community service and submitting to random drug screenings. He risks six months of imprisonment if probation is violated. Notably, last year he asserted sobriety lasting five years to a judge in New Hampshire.
In a related consequence of the New Hampshire accident, the trucking company’s owner, who employed Zhukovskyy, received a two-month prison sentence due to misleading investigators and forging critical driver logs and other documentation to circumvent federal safety regulations.