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Truck driver in 2019 crash that killed 7 motorcyclists acquitted

Motorcycles Crash
Posted at 11:44 AM, Aug 10, 2022
and last updated 2022-08-10 13:44:55-04

A Massachusetts truck driver accused of causing a fiery crash that killed seven motorcyclists in New Hampshire three years ago was acquitted by a jury on Tuesday.

CNN reported Volodymyr Zhukovskyy was charged in 2019 with multiple counts of negligent homicide, manslaughter, and other charges and had pleaded not guilty.

The 26-year-old, who had been in jail since the crash, was found not guilty after the jury deliberated for less than three hours, the Associated Press reported.

According to the news outlets, prosecutors argued that Zhukovskyy was driving erratically and crossed the double-yellow center line after taking heroin, fentanyl and cocaine before the crash.

But the judge dismissed eight charges related to whether Zhukovskyy was impaired, the news outlet reported.

Zhukovskyy's attorney argued the lead motorcyclist, Albert “Woody” Mazza Jr., who died in the crash, was drunk and lost control of his bike drifted over into the path of Zhukovskyy's truck, the Associated Press reported.