(Courtesy of Miranda Thompson)
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The driver accused of killing seven bikers on a New Hampshire highway in June was under the influence of drugs and reaching for a drink at the time of the crash, the Boston Globe reports.
Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 23 of West Springfield, has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of negligent homicide in the June 21 crash.
The new information about his alleged intoxication came from a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration report obtained by the Globe.
The victims in the crash were members or supporters of the Marine JarHeads Motorcycle Club, which includes Marines and their spouses. The group was taking part in an annual trip when authorities say Zhukovskyy's truck, towing a flat-bed trailer, collided with them on a two-lane highway.
In the aftermath of the crash, it was learned that Zhukovskyy had a history of drunk driving arrests that should have kept him off the road, if not for chronic missteps at the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. The RMV scandal led to the resignation of registrar Erin Deveney and an ongoing investigation into the agency's practices.
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Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey's office is investigating the company that employed Zhukovskyy, Springfield-based Westfield Transport.
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