Driver Charged in Deaths of 7 Bikers in NH

According to WGME, the driver of the pickup truck hauling a trailer that crashed into 10 motorcycles last Friday in New Hampshire has been charged with seven counts of negligent homicide.

Volodymyr Zhukovsky, 23, will appear in a New Hampshire courtroom Tuesday. He was arrested in Massachusetts on a fugitive from justice charge yesterday.

During Zhukovsky's arrest at his home, police found wax packets that had residue of what they believe might be heroin, according to WGME. The residue will be tested, and Zhukovsky has not yet been charged with a drug offense, the news station reported.

The Ukranian native was employed by Westfield Transport.

Seven members of the Jar Heads Motorcycle Club, that is made up of Marines, were killed in the accident while on their way to a charity event. Joshua Morin, 45, of Dalton, Mass. is still at Maine Medical Center listed in stable condition.

According to Boston.com, Zhukovsky's driving record includes:

a license suspension in 2013 for operating under the influence in Westfield
Sentenced to a year of probation with a 210-day license suspension
Involved in surchargeable accidents (meaning that he was at fault) in April 2012 and June 2013, along with an equipment violation also in June
Arrested for alleged impaired driving

How did he ever get his commercial license and who would hire him with a record like this?! This can all be found in the file of the Mass. Registry of Motor Vehicles. It's public information that any employer can find, especially if you are hiring someone to drive for you.

According to Masslive.com, Zhukovsky's employer, Westfield Transport, has infractions that include:

inoperative or defective brakes and other maintenance violations
drivers who did not have the required CDL license
driver safety violations that include: failure to stay in a lane, speeding 11 to 14 miles per hour over the speed limit
two instances when drivers were in possession of narcotics

Records show that in the two cases when a driver was found to be in possession of amphetamines, the Westfield Transport truck license plate number was listed as S26138, the same as the plate on the truck driven by Zhukovsky when the accident happened, according to Masslive.com.

Zhukovsky's driving record is a mess, and then there's this:

He was arrested for misdemeanor drug possession last year, and pled guilty.
90-day suspended jail sentence in Connecticut from a 2015 charge of larceny in the sixth degree, which is petty theft under $500.

The crash investigation is ongoing and officials are not disclosing what caused Zhukovsky to collide with the 10 motorcycles.