‘I’M SO ANGRY’

Jury Acquits Truck Driver in 2019 Crash That Killed 7 Motorcyclists

Prosecutors accused Volodymyr Zhukovskyy of driving recklessly into a group of bikers in New Hampshire. His attorneys blamed the lead motorcyclist for the crash.

A jury on Tuesday found a Massachusetts truck driver not guilty of causing the deaths of seven motorcyclists in a ghastly collision in New Hampshire three years ago. Volodymyr Zhukovskyy was acquitted of seven counts of manslaughter, seven counts of negligent homicide, and one count of reckless conduct. The 26-year-old began to cry and briefly raised a finger up to the sky as he was read the verdict, which was delivered after less than three hours of deliberation. Prosecutors argued during the two-week trial that Zhukovskyy—who had ingested heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine hours before the head-on crash—had been driving recklessly, swerving back and forth before he slammed into the Jarheads Motorcycle Club’s procession. Zhukovskyy’s team blamed the lead rider, Albert “Woody” Mazza, saying he had been drunk before he slid underneath Zhukovskyy’s truck. Relatives of the bikers left the courthouse frustrated and upset, according to NBC Boston, with one woman heard saying, “I’m so angry,” and another wondering aloud what she would tell her kids.