The criminal trial of Volodymyr Zhukovskyy has been closely followed for the past two weeks in New Hampshire and nationwide. Mr. Zhukovskyy was charged with 7 counts of homicide after the semi-truck he was driving crashed head-on into a group of motorcyclists in June 2019 in Randolph, Rhode Island, and resulted in 7 deaths. According to a national news report, the jury released a verdict after the two-week long trial, and they found Mr. Zhukovskyy not guilty of all charges.
According to the facts discussed in the news report, prosecutors alleged that Mr. Zhukovskyy was under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash and that his impairment and unsafe driving caused the crash. The defendant had one commercial driving license suspended in Connecticut two months before the crash for drunk driving. Although notice of the incident was sent to the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, it had not been processed at the time, and Mr. Zhukovskyy was operating his vehicle with a valid Massachusetts commercial driving license at the time of the crash.
Defense attorneys argued that he was not impaired by any drugs at the time of the crash, and pointed to conflicting witness testimonies to place doubt on the prosecution’s theory of the case. It was unclear whether the motorcyclists for the defendant had crossed over the centerline before the crash. Because of this, the prosecution was unable to prove their case to the jury beyond a reasonable doubt, and Mr. Zhukovskyy will be released from custody.