FILE - In this July 13, 2019, file photo, members of the U.S. Veterans Motorcycle Club salute the flag during the playing of the National Anthem at the beginning of a memorial and remembrance service for motorcyclists and their spouses who died in the June crash in the parking lot of Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, the pickup truck driver accused of causing a collision that killed seven motorcyclists in New Hampshire, has been indicted on 23 charges saying he negligently caused the deaths and was under the influence of one or more drugs at the time. (Mark Stockwell/The Sun Chronicle via AP, File)
Republished October 21, 2019 - 3:16 PM
Original Publication Date October 21, 2019 - 1:51 PM
LANCASTER, N.H. - A pickup truck driver accused of causing a collision that killed seven motorcyclists in New Hampshire has been indicted on 23 charges saying he negligently caused the deaths and was under the influence of one or more drugs at the time.
Volodymyr Zhukovskyy , 23, of Springfield, Massachusetts, is to be arraigned by video on Nov. 5. He has been jailed without bail since the June 21 crash in Randolph.
A Coos County grand jury handed up indictments Thursday on seven counts of negligent homicide; seven counts of negligent homicide — driving under the influence; seven counts of manslaughter-reckless; one count of driving while intoxicated; and one count of reckless conduct. If convicted of all charges, Zhukovskyy could face up to 378 years in prison. He's previously pleaded not guilty.
A message was left with Zhukovskyy's lawyer Monday.
The negligent homicide-DUI charges accuse Zhukovskyy of driving under the influence of a controlled drug or drugs at the time of the crash. The manslaughter charges accuse Zhukovskyy of driving recklessly and swerving across the centre line on Route 2.
In August, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said that a toxicology report showed Zhukovskyy was positive for an unspecified drug that made him incapable of driving safely when his pickup truck crossed the centre yellow line and crashed into the motorcyclists.
Zhukovskyy also said that he reached for a drink on the passenger side of the truck just before the crash, according to the report. That violation was labeled as "inattentive driving."
News from © The Associated Press, 2019