By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
LANCASTER – The manslaughter trial of Massachusetts truck driver Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 26, who allegedly drove his truck into a group of motorcycle riders on Route 2 in Randolph killing seven people three years ago will feature competing versions of who is to blame.
While Coos County Attorney John McCormick laid out the case during opening arguments Tuesday morning that Zhukovskyy’s drug use and negligence behind the wheel led to the deadly wreck, defense attorney Steve Mirkin said it was the intoxicated lead motorcycle rider who caused the fatal crash and also died in the crash.
“Albert “Woody” Mazza, was responsible, he was riding on the centerline, and he lost control of his Harley. Drunk drivers cause accidents. Al Mazza was drunk, Volodymyr Zhukovskyy is not guilty of any of these charges,” Mirkin said.
Albert “Woody” Mazza, 59, of Lee, was the lead rider on the club ride that day and the president of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club. He also had a .135 blood alcohol content percentage that day, nearly twice the legal limit, according to records.
McCormick acknowledged Mazza’s drinking, but said it was Zhukovskyy who started his day snorting heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine, before he got into his 20-foot truck towing a 40-foot trailer — 60 feet of metal and solid steel weighing more than 10,000 pounds — to deliver cars for his Massachusetts employer.
McCormick said Zhukovskyy was impaired, seen weaving on the road before the accident, and not looking at the road when he ran into the riders.
“That’s what caused the accident, his reckless disregard for the rules of the road, and his drug use. ‘I caused the accident.’ These are his words,” McCormick said. “When he was asked by the investigators what got us here, his one-word answer was ‘drugs.’”
The state’s case will focus on Zhukovskyy’s drug use and driving record. Weeks before the accident, Zhukovskyy overdosed on heroin while fishing with his nephews, and had to be revived with NARCAN, McCormick said.
Zhukovskyy was also stopped by police in Connecticut in May of 2019 for operating under the influence. When he refused to submit to a blood test, he should have had his license suspended under the law. The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles’ failure to suspend Zhukovskyy’s license led to the resignation of the agency’s head, Erin Deveney, when it came to light after the crash.
But, according to Mirkin, Zhukovskyy was sober and alert when he talked to police immediately after the crash. No officer reported any sign of intoxication when they spoke to Zhukovskyy, Mirkin said. While he had drugs in his system at the time, he was not under the influence anymore, Mirkin said.
“The evidence is going to show that Vlad at the time of the crash was not impaired, he was not criminally negligent, he was not reckless, and he did not cause this accident,” Mirkin said.
Mazza, Mirkin said, had been drinking beer at a club event before the accident. The Jarheads Motorcycle Club is made up of former Marines and their families and the group fundraises for veterans’ causes.
Mazza brought a keg of Coors Light to the event, jokingly called “Woody Water” by club members, Mirkin said. Mirkin said it was Mazza who crossed the centerline as Zhukovskyy was reaching down to get his drink bottle, and that caused the carnage on the road.
In fact, Mirkin said several members of the club on the road that day were also intoxicated. Police never pursued that as a possible factor in the crash, Mirkin said.
“It didn’t fit their narrative,” Mirkin said.
Killed along with Mazza were: Michael Ferazzi, 62, of Contoocook, Desma Oakes, 42, of Concord, Aaron Perry, 45, of Farmington, Daniel Pereira, 58, of Riverside, Rhode Island, Jo-Ann and Edward Corr, both 58, of Lakeville, Mass.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board’s initial report on the crash, while several members of the Jarheads were intoxicated at the time of the collision, that was not the cause. The federal agency blamed Zhukovskyy’s drug use.
“The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the Randolph, New Hampshire, crash was the pickup truck driver’s crossing the centerline and encroaching into the oncoming lane of travel, which occurred because of his impairment from use of multiple drugs. Contributing to the crash was Westfield Transport’s substantial disregard for and egregious noncompliance with safety regulations. Also contributing was the failure of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles to revoke the pickup truck driver’s Massachusetts driver’s license when notified of his loss of driving privileges in another state,” the initial report states.
Zhukovskyy of Springfield, Mass., worked for Massachusetts trucking company Westfield Transport. The NTSB faulted the company for failing to conduct proper background checks on employees, and also for the company’s managers and drivers practice of tampering with electronic logging devices and falsifying hours-of-service logs. The company ended up paying out $1 million to the families of the crash victims before it went out of business.
More than 100 witnesses are expected to be called to the stand during the next two weeks of trial as Zhukovskyy faces 23 felony counts for the 2019 accident.