The case of a truck driver who's charged with causing the deaths of seven motorcyclists in northern New Hampshire in 2019 has been delayed.
The trial of Volodymyr Zhukovskyy was scheduled to start next week, but has been continued until March 2022 at the request of defense attorneys. Zhukovskyy's lawyers had filed a motion seeking a delay because there are still highly technical issues that need to be decided before the trial can get underway.
Prosecutors had called several witnesses Tuesday to set up a timeline of the truck-tractor trailer’s path before the crash, but the defense questioned the accounts and said the testimony didn’t prove it was the same vehicle.
Zhukovskyy, 25, of West Springfield, Massachusetts, faces trial on multiple counts of negligent homicide, manslaughter, driving under the influence and reckless conduct stemming from the crash that happened in Randolph on June 21, 2019. He has pleaded not guilty.
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The victims, members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, were from New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Prosecutors called as witnesses Tuesday three Littleton firefighters who responded to a fallen tree on Interstate 93, and a driver traveling on Route 2 with a background in commercial trucks.
The firefighters, who were in a crossover near the Vermont state line, testified they saw a truck hauling a trailer coming close to them before the driver corrected and continued. The Route 2 driver testified that he was heading west when he saw an eastbound truck with a trailer come halfway into his lane before pulling back.
Defense attorney Steven Mirkin said none of the witnesses could recall the name of the company on the truck, Westfield Transport, or any of its identifying numbers. The hearing was in Coos County Superior Court.
