7 killed in motorcycle collision in New Hampshire

Garandman

Active member
From a local forum.

We went to Gorham on Tuesday for lunch. While I had already wanted to stop at the memorial site, I didn't bring it up, because my lovely bride is pretty sensitive about things like this.

To my surprise, she asked if we could stop, so of course I did.

We all got out, and we all "suffered from allergies." The colors left on the site from as far away as Tucson and Nevada were touching, but the single stake with dew rags tied on it was probably the clincher.

That, and the still-visible skid marks, gouges in the pavement, blue paint marking positions from the accident investigation... but worst of all was the debris left behind. Burned and charred bits of metal and plastic scattered all over the roadside.
 

Garandman

Active member
“Truck driver was on drugs, reaching for drink at time of accident.”

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2019/08...report-says/kJLXEvoX0NbtrceKpa8jgK/story.html

Zhukovskyy also said that he reached for a drink on the passenger side of the truck just before the crash, according to the report, though the report did not specify what kind of beverage. That violation was labeled as "inattentive driving."

The findings were part of an inspection that also found that Zhukovskyy's vehicle had defective lighting and was missing some wheel fasteners.
 
Last edited:

Skippy and Emu

Active member
Tastefully done tribute, just released on Youtube.

https://youtu.be/bO-2VcA7qbQ

Casey's, wit and humour is brilliant, but she still manages to master the art of truly heartful observations.
I can even live with the fact, that she did not choose a Sprinter to build with.
 
Motorcycling on public roads is life-or-death stuff.

Tragedies like this illustrate why we as motorcyclists should arm ourselves with the most competent motorcycles, the best rider training, and the highest quality safety gear, to improve our chances for survival when confronted by offenders like the one in this case.
 

lindenengineering

Well-known member
Motorcycling on public roads is life-or-death stuff.

Tragedies like this illustrate why we as motorcyclists should arm ourselves with the most competent motorcycles, the best rider training, and the highest quality safety gear, to improve our chances for survival when confronted by offenders like the one in this case.
Yes I was reminded of this above statement yesterday!
Here I was scudding along eastbound on I/70 (Denver metro ) in the company Prius on a parts run. A rear view mirror check observation showed a lone sports bike coming at speed, move to right to let him pass, speed guesstimate about 85 mph.

As he passed bike sounds "baso profundo on song" had to be a Ducati (Signores). Rider properly attired and I watched him quickly move ahead taking command of the road space and traffic density. A nice riding skill shown, good positioning definitely not a novice. I watched him for a few minutes thinking nice rider skill, then some idiot being persnickety, blocks his path in Honda Accord. I thought what was that all about??
Of course being a skilled rider he found the escape made the move, then disappeared into the heat haze of the horizon on I/76.

As you state you never know when someone is going to do something dumb, on purpose or by inattention you cannot relax or drop your guard for one minute.
Dennis
 

Traveljog

New member
My God that's horrible. I always assume everyone else on the road is an idiot, but there's no real planning for something like that.
 

glasseye

Well-known member
It'd be a good idea for everyone to complete their first six months as a new drivers licencee on a motorcycle. That way, they'd learn the precise meaning of the term "defensive driving". :professor:
 

Garandman

Active member
My God that's horrible. I always assume everyone else on the road is an idiot, but there's no real planning for something like that.
It reminds me of an accident many years ago where a truck traveling Northbound on a highway lost a wheel. The wheel hit a bump and was propelled over the guard rail. It struck a car (at the base of the windshield) driven by a friend’s dad: who was paralyzed from the neck down.

Not at all down with the beanie helmet brigade personally, but this was a nightmare scenario. Most of us who are military veterans have seen what can happen when “Your number is up,” so for this to happen to veterans who survived those hazards makes it even more sad.
 
My God that's horrible. I always assume everyone else on the road is an idiot, but there's no real planning for something like that.
Wrong.

We should spend EVERY single day planning, preparing, training, and equipping for a threat like that. Motorcycling on public roads is statistically more dangerous than armed combat in Afghanistan.

We should select the most competent motorcycle. You wouldn't go into combat armed with a Nerf gun, but Harley-Davidson motorcycles are the Nerf guns of motorcycles.

We should wear full and proper safety gear, to include a properly-fitted full-face Snell/DOT/ECE rated helmet, a spine protector, and armored leather covering every square inch of skin below the neck. You wouldn't go into combat wearing a "Village People" costume of fringed assless chaps and a pleather vest, but the majority of Harley operators do.

We should obtain competent professional rider training. You wouldn't go into combat without ever having been taught how to shoot, but the vast majority of Harley operators have had absolutely ZERO rider training. The sad part about that, is that when it comes to riding a motorcycle, almost everything works the exact opposite way that lay people assume that it does, so the chances of them just "figuring it out" in the absence of proper rider training, is just about zero.
 
Last edited:

Garandman

Active member
https://boston.cbslocal.com/2019/08/28/new-hampshire-dmv-review-randolph-crash-volodymyr-zhukovskyy/

New Hampshire plans to suspend the licenses of nearly 4,000 drivers in the latest fallout following a June crash that killed seven motorcyclists, Gov. Chris Sununu said Wednesday. The Republican governor said the review of the Division of Motor Vehicles sparked by the deadly crash that was just released led authorities to catch up on notifications it had that dated back to July 2016. Sununu said the department is now caught up and more than 37,000 DMV infractions have been looked at.

“What we have learned through the process allows us to both challenge and assist other states as they hopefully undergo the same exercise,” Sununu said.

Further out, Sununu is recommending legislative changes that would allow the DMV to share notifications for all drivers, not just those in states which participate in the REAL ID program. The state is also hoping to encourage municipalities in New Hampshire to automate the sharing of notifications with the state. Currently, most mail paper notifications to the DMV.
 

Garandman

Active member
A Massachusetts man is facing 16 new charges after a New Hampshire grand jury handed up indictments related to the horrific crash in June that killed seven motorcyclists and exposed widespread problems at the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles.

Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 23, previously had been charged with seven counts of negligent homicide. The indictment added seven counts of negligent homicide while driving under the influence, seven counts of reckless manslaughter, and one count each of aggravated driving while intoxicated and reckless conduct with a deadly weapon — his 2016 Dodge pickup truck.

Authorities have said Zhukovskyy was high on drugs and reaching for a drink when the pickup he was driving with an attached trailer crossed over the yellow line on Route 2 in Randolph, N.H., and collided with a group of motorcyclists.

Officials at the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles have conceded that Zhukovskyy’s commercial driver’s license should have been terminated before the June 21 crash because he had been charged with drunk driving in Connecticut in May.

However, the agency failed to act on a notification of the charge from the state of Connecticut, along with tens of thousands of other notifications about lawbreaking drivers from other states, many of which piled up in boxes in the registry’s storage rooms.

Zhukovskyy has been jailed since the crash, and is scheduled to appear in court in Lancaster, N.H., via video conference on Nov. 5.


https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2...cycle-crash/J4CXbnQ7wpmBQ4whhgRAfN/story.html
 

ECU

2006 T1n 118 Sprinter
why is the guy with the camera going the wrong way? Note the white line defining lanes going the same direction and the yellow line on the right marking a center divider.
 

Garandman

Active member
Well, this just got even more tragic.

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — One of the motorcyclists in a crash that killed him and six fellow bikers on a north woods highway was drunk and actually was the one who hit a pickup and caused the accident, the lawyer for the truck driver charged with homicide said in a document made public Tuesday.....

State police initially determined that the flatbed trailer he was hauling was 1 1/2 feet over the center line at the time of impact, the motion said. But the state recently disclosed a report from an independent accident reconstruction firm that challenges that assessment, according to the motion filed by defense lawyer Jay Duguay.

.....The motion notes the state also provided information showing that Mazza had been turned around looking back at the group of riders behind him just before the accident and that autopsy reports show that at the time of the crash, Mazza’s blood-alcohol level was 0.135%, well above the legal limit of 0.08%....

Zhukovskyy is accused of driving under the influence of a controlled drug or drugs. In August, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said that a toxicology report showed Zhukovskyy tested positive for an unspecified drug that made him incapable of driving safely.
https://apnews.com/328aa6c3807c1bc94e5874b67c41443c

Most people who are not habituated would pass out before reaching that BAC.
 

CJPJ

2008 3500 170 EXTD 3.0 V6 OM642.993 4.182
The liberal appointed prosecutor/ plea bargaining in favor for time served.
 

flman

Roadrunner, Genius of Birds ALWAYS WINS! NO FAILS!
why is the guy with the camera going the wrong way? Note the white line defining lanes going the same direction and the yellow line on the right marking a center divider.
Where I come from, double lines are on secondary roads and mean no passing. On the interstate the single center line is continually dashed. I am pretty sure that is the law of the land in the US. From coast to coast, the roads are all the same from what I see. Everyone but that truck is in the right lane.
 

Top Bottom