Report: Driver in crash that killed bikers was high on drugs

By MICHAEL CASEY
August 1, 2019

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The driver involved in a crash that killed seven motorcyclists in New Hampshire was high on drugs and reached for a beverage just before colliding with a group of bikers, according to details from a federal inspection report that were published Thursday.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration report obtained by The Boston Globe said that Volodymyr Zhukovskyy tested positive for an unspecified drug that made him incapable of driving safely when his pickup truck crossed the center yellow line and crashed into motorcyclists. Zhukovskyy also admitted that he reached for a drink just before the crash, according to the report. The Globe did not say what kind of drink.

Zhukovskyy, 23, of West Springfield, Massachusetts, has pleaded not guilty to negligent homicide in the crash. The seven who died were members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, a New England group that includes Marines and their spouses.

A phone message seeking comment was left with a lawyer for Zhukovskyy. A spokeswoman for the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office said the office could not comment on the report, citing the ongoing investigation and prosecution.

Since the crash, it has emerged that Zhukovskyy had multiple run-ins with the law.

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