A Landmark Acquittal in Massachusetts

In June, 2019, a pickup truck with a trailer attached collided with a motorcycle club of Marine veterans and their families on a two-lane road in rural New Hampshire. Seven motorcyclists were killed. The driver of the pickup truck, Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, from Springfield, Massachusetts, was arrested a month later and charged with seven counts of vehicular manslaughter. As he was a Ukrainian national, he was denied bail.

Better Call Saul wrapped up a few weeks ago

Immediately after the arrest it was widely reported that Zhukovskyy's license should have been suspended because of a DUI conviction in neighboring Connecticut that the Mass DMV 'missed,' but the trucking company he was driving for the day of the accident ignored. That was closely followed by a report that Zhukovskyy had 'consumed heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl the 'day of the crash.' Nevertheless, he pleaded not guilty, He was represented by a New Hampshire public defender. The crash, arrest, drug use, DUI were in the media 24/7 for months until COVID hit and the courts shutdown.

It was a given that he was guilty and was going to spend most of the rest of his life in a New Hampshire prison. Because of this, the trial started with relatively minor media coverage beyond, 'we're waiting for a verdict.' After twelve days of trial and a very short deliberation the jury found him 'not guilty' on all charges. Media on the East Coast exploded. The governor of New Hampshire condemned the verdict, other officials and politicians piled on.

No one from the New Hampshire and Massachusetts criminal defense bars who were following the trial were remotely surprised and spent most of August explaining to the Boston Globe, New York Times, and Washington Post why. They noticed:

  • The drugs were ingested 11 hours before the crash and the judge 'rightly' excluded it as evidence;
  • The lead motorcyclist had been drinking all afternoon, was told not to drive, did, was the first one hit and killed, and his blood alcohol level was .135;
  • Many of the other 'victims' were also legally impaired;
  • The prosecution witnesses told widely different versions of the crash, including who crossed the yellow line first;.
  • Perhaps the most damning to the professional eye: the state ignored the New Hampshire State Police accident reconstruction team's finding that Zhukovskyy did not cross the yellow line. The defense did not.

Horrible incident, quick rush to judgment in lieu of facts, this time the jury got it right.