Truck driver involved in Randolph accident faces maximum suspension of driver’s license

The driver of a pickup truck carrying a car that collided with a group of motorcyclists in the town of Randolph five years ago was given the maximum penalty of suspension of his driver’s license allowed under state law.

Volodymyr Zhukovskyy’s license was temporarily suspended in the days following the June 2019 crash that killed seven people, all members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, which includes U.S. Marines and their supporters. Zhukovskyy admitted to taking cocaine and heroin on the morning of the crash. The lead motorcyclist, Albert Mazza, also had a blood alcohol level above the legal limit at the time of the crash on Route 2.

Zhukovskyy was acquitted of manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol during his criminal trial. Last September, he filed an appeal with the Department of Motor Vehicles to reinstate his New Hampshire license.

But an administrative decision released Wednesday says Zhukovskyy’s driver’s license must be revoked for seven years, retroactively from the date of the accident – the maximum penalty provided for under state law.

“This is an accident that should not have happened,” wrote hearing officer Ryan McFarland.

Several witnesses observed Zhukovskyy driving erratically in the hours before the accident. Zhukovskyy had also been involved in an accident in Texas just months before the Randolph incident and was already facing a DUI charge in Connecticut that would have resulted in a formal suspension of his license.

Zhukovskky has 30 days to appeal the decision to a higher court. If he accepts the suspension, he can apply to have his license reinstated in June 2027. But to do so, he must first complete a six-hour driver training course and provide a letter from a drug and alcohol counselor after an examination.

Zhukovskyy appeared at two separate administrative hearings earlier this year via videoconference, as the state argued it could not guarantee his safety if he appeared in person. Family and friends of those killed in the crash testified that their lives had been forever changed and that Zhukovskyy would continue to pose a danger to motorists if he were allowed to drive again.

“A driver’s license is a privilege,” McFarland wrote in his report, “and drivers must appreciate that privilege and the great responsibility that comes with that privilege.”