Defense Lawyer In Death Of 7 Motorcyclists In N.H. Crash: Biker At Fault

The lawyer for the truck driver charged with homicide in a New Hampshire crash that killed seven motorcyclists claims one of the bikers was drunk and was the one who hit a pickup and caused the accident, according to a document made public Tuesday.

Jay Duguay, the defense lawyer for Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, the 24-year-old West Springfield truck driver in the June 21 crash, filed the motion Friday seeking a hearing to set Zhukovskyy free on bail. Duguay claimed in the motion that the New Hampshire State Police account of the crash in Randolph "was deeply flawed."

State police initially determined that the flatbed trailer he was hauling was 1 1/2 feet over the center line at the time of impact, the motion said, but the state recently disclosed a report from an independent accident reconstruction firm that challenges that assessment.

Zhukovskyy’s vehicle was traveling west and the motorcyclists were traveling east on the two-lane road. The firm, Crash Labs, “determined that the impact occurred directly over the center line” and that the motorcycle driven by Albert “Woody” Mazza Jr. “was in fact protruding over onto the center line when it struck the truck,” according to the motion.

The initial impact occurred between the left side of Mazza’s motorcycle and the left front tire of Zhukovskyy’s truck, it said.

The report goes on to say that “the impact caused catastrophic air loss to the left front tire of the truck, which left a tire mark on the center line of the road,” Duguay says in his motion. “This tire mark had initially been attributed to an ‘unsuccessful avoidance maneuver’ by Mr. Mazza, a position that the State has since retracted.”

Prosecutors have an April 10 deadline to respond. The court will then determine whether a hearing on the motion will be scheduled.

“We are in receipt of the pleading that was filed on Friday evening and the State will be filing a written objection with the court,” Kate Spiner, a spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office, said in a statement.

The motion notes the state also provided information showing that Mazza had been turned around looking back at the group of riders behind him just before the accident and that autopsy reports show that at the time of the crash, Mazza’s blood-alcohol level was 0.135%, well above the legal limit of 0.08%.

Duguay requested the hearing so Zhukovskyy might be freed on bail, “given the dramatically different factual circumstances as they are known at this time.”

Mazza, 59, of Lee, and the six others who died were members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, a New England group that includes Marines and their spouses. The victims were from New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Mazza’s common-law wife had sued the trucking company employing Zhukovskyy, saying it negligently hired him despite a troubled driving record.

Her attorney, Chuck Douglas, said he had not seen the Crash Labs report and couldn’t comment on the bail motion.

Zhukovskyy is accused of driving under the influence of a controlled drug or drugs. In August, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said that a toxicology report showed Zhukovskyy tested positive for an unspecified drug that made him incapable of driving safely.

Zhukovskyy was indicted last year on multiple counts of negligent homicide and DUI. He has been in jail since and pleaded not guilty. Jury selection for his trial is scheduled for November.