7 dead in crash between truck, motorcycles in New Hampshire

[TomSea]

7 dead in crash between truck, motorcycles in New Hampshire
AP,
June 21, 2019

RANDOLPH, N.H. (AP) — Seven people were killed in a crash between a truck and several motorcycles in New Hampshire, state police said Friday, in what witnesses described as a “devastating scene” as bystanders grabbed first aid kits and blankets to treat injured motorcycle riders scattered along the highway.

State police said that a 2016 Dodge 2500 pickup truck collided with the riders on U.S. 2 in Randolph. Authorities said additional details would be provided as they investigate the crash.

Along with the seven dead, state police said two additional people were transported to the Androscoggin Valley Hospital and one was airlifted to Maine Medical. Police said they could not provide the identities of the dead until next of kin have been notified.

Read more at: https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2019/06/21/in-new-hampshire-motorcycles-pickup-crash-in-devastating-fatal-scene

Huge accident there.

[edpc]

The truck has obviously crossed the centerline, in a no passing zone. We don’t know the reason why, just yet.

[TomSea]

Some reports say all killed were motorcyclists, ordinarily speaking, a pick-up and the rest motorcycles?  It is hard to imagine what happened. It sounds like manslaughter or other charges might eventually happen. It does not sound like the motorcyclists were drinking.

[Smokin Joe]

bookmark. Withholding comment for more information.

[Elderberry]

https://www.stripes.com/news/us/multiple-vehicle-crash-involving-members-of-marine-jarheads-motorcycle-club-kills-7-1.587116

New Hampshire State Police said a 2016 Dodge 2500 pickup collided with the riders on U.S. 2, a two-lane highway in Randolph. The cause of the deadly collision is not yet known. The pickup, which appeared to be towing a flatbed trailer, was on fire when emergency crews arrived.

The crash has sent shock waves through New England’s community of motorcycle enthusiasts and military veterans, which sometimes overlap. The crash involved members of Marine JarHeads MC, a motorcycle club in New England that includes Marines and their spouses.

Members of the motorcycle community are already organizing help for the victims’ families, said Wilson. Charlie St. Clair, executive director of Laconia Motorcycle Week Association, which hosts one of the state’s biggest rallies in June, said he couldn’t recall an accident of this magnitude involving bikers in the state.

[Elderberry]

'We all feel it': Bikers mourn 7 of their own killed on road

Waco Trib By MICHAEL CASEY and PATRICK WHITTLE

https://www.wacotrib.com/news/ap_nation/we-all-feel-it-bikers-mourn-of-their-own-killed/article_de7dd6ac-2da3-5a10-8ba8-81da584c6445.html

RANDOLPH, N.H. (AP) — Investigators pleaded Saturday for members of the public to come forward with information that could help them determine why a pickup truck hauling a trailer collided with a group of 10 motorcycles on a rural highway, killing seven bikers.

The crash in remote northern New Hampshire involved members of Marine JarHeads, a motorcycle club that includes Marines and their spouses, authorities said. The tragedy sent shockwaves through New England's communities of motorcyclists and military veterans, which often overlap.

"When something like this happens, we all feel it," said Cat Wilson, who organizes a motorcycle charity event in Massachusetts and is a friend of some of the crash victims. "There is no tighter community than our biker community."

Authorities identified the pickup driver as Volodoymyr Zhukovskyy, 23, an employee of a Springfield, Massachusetts, company called Westfield Transport.

Zhukovskyy survived the accident, did not need to be hospitalized and has not been charged, authorities said, but they didn't address details on his whereabouts. A phone listing for him couldn't be found.

Dartanyan Gasanov, the owner of Westfield Transport, told The Boston Globe that he planned to talk to investigators Monday and has been unable to reach Zhukovskyy, who has not been answering phone calls.

The National Transportation Safety Board is among the agencies investigating. Authorities asked for the public's help in the form of videos, photos or other information about the accident or the vehicles involved.

More at link.

[NavyCanDo]

So terribly sad. Rest in Peace brothers.

[TomSea]

Sometimes and I look at the picture above, engines catch on fire, that looks a bit like what has happened per the truck. I'm also thinking there might have been some steep climbs.

... were struck by a truck driven by 23-year-old Volodoymyr Zhukovskyy of West Springfield, according to investigators in New Hampshire.
https://www.masslive.com/boston/2019/06/report-motorcycle-riders-from-massachusetts-among-the-7-killed-in-new-hampshire-crash.html

Volodoymyr is also the first name of Ukraine's president. Maybe a chance, Zhukovskyy is an immigrant from that part of the world? Very young, tow-truck driving is a bit low on the totem pole for truck drivers.  Actually, from that photo, it looks like a tow truck to me, the kinds with trailers. I think my car has been towed a time or two on something like that.

Comments here seem to indicate the truck went over on the wrong side of the road, swerved back... something like that happened. We might have an idea per speculation. Maybe one doesn't like speculation but then, we might not find out about what happened for months.

https://www.masslive.com/boston/2019/06/report-motorcycle-riders-from-massachusetts-among-the-7-killed-in-new-hampshire-crash.html  (same link as above)  It's hard to fathom the accident being so bad, the motorcyclists must have been pretty close together which is not uncommon.

[Sanguine]

How awful. 

[TomSea]

Names of victims released ( https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/06/23/names-victims-deadly-crash-released-sunday-afternoon-officials-say/ggf62XJ9CEEOPDmQtIkfuO/story.html?s_campaign=breakingnews:newsletter Reader version).

The victims who died were identified as Joanne and Edward Corr, 58, of Lakeville, Mass.; Michael Ferazzi, 62, of Contoocook, N.H.; Albert Mazza, 49, of Lee, N.H.; Daniel Pereira, 58, of Riverside, R.I.; Desma Oakes, 42, of Concord, N.H.; and Aaron Perry, 45, of Farmington, N.H.

[TomSea]

Reading that Boston Globe story and how they died of blunt force injuries sure is making me wonder about helmets.

New Hampshire Motorcycle Helmet Law

While New Hampshire hasn't had a helmet law since the National Highway System Designation Act passed in 1995, riders under the age of 18 are required to wear helmets.

https://www.edgarsnyder.com/motorcycle-accidents/state-helmet-laws/

But the map at link says all riders are required to wear them.

And for the record, I don't think helmet laws should be mandatory, at least, not for those over 18.

[Elderberry]

If a truck hit you on a bike head on, that's pretty much "Blunt Force" in my book, helmet or not.

[rustynail]

Think Volodoymyr has left the country?

[TomSea]

If a truck hit you on a bike head on, that's pretty much "Blunt Force" in my book, helmet or not.

I'll bet they were wearing helmets. A group like this probably would be. Maybe 1 or 2 were not. 2 people are in the hospital with critical injuries from what I understand.

[Smokin Joe]

Reading that Boston Globe story and how they died of blunt force injuries sure is making me wonder about helmets.
But the map at link says all riders are required to wear them.

And for the record, I don't think helmet laws should be mandatory, at least, not for those over 18.

For the record, in some impacts a helmet just keeps the teeth in a nice handy bucket, well, the uppers, anyway, provided the helmet doesn't split.

If the speed of closure was over 100 MPH, its only a question of academics, not of making a difference in outcome.

[TomSea]

Email alert from the Boston Globe:

A 23-year-old Massachusetts man is facing seven counts of negligent homicide for his alleged role in a devastating crash that killed seven people Friday evening in Randolph, N.H., authorities said.

[EdJames]

Have they provided any information on HOW this accident occurred?

I heard speculation that the trailer may have swung out into the oncoming lane the bikers were in, has that been confirmed?

[TomSea]

@EdJames

The photo in post 2 to me, makes it look like a head on collision though, not all of the motorcycles look badly mangled. ` I wonder how the front of the truck caught on fire.

I still do think that if not all, if one were in an accident like this, your chances of survival would be better with a helmet.  Maybe the head on would kill the most vulnerable but if you were outside the pack a bit?

There is definitely more to know about this.

[EdJames]

Thanks @TomSee, please let us know if you see anything about an official report on the HOW it happened...

[TomSea]

@EdJames  I'll be here 2 years from now when this goes to trial and then, we can talk about it if one needs all of the facts.

Accident reenactments with 7 motorcycles and a trailer on a pickup, maybe the earliest we can know more will be next month or August, the year is moving by.

[truth_seeker]

That was surprisingly quick, to charge the driver with "negligent homicide."

[Sanguine]

@andy58-in-nh, do you know anything more about this? 

[Elderberry]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-hampshire-motorcycle-crash-truck-driver-charged-with-7-counts-negligent-homicide-today-2019-06-24/

Massachusetts State Police found wax packets at Zhukovskyy's house containing residue that is believed to be heroin. He has not been charged on a drug offense, but Zhukovskyy will face an additional charge if lab tests are positive for narcotics.

[Elderberry]

https://www.boston.com/news/crime/2019/06/24/truck-driver-arrested-new-hampshire-motorcycle-crash

Zhukovskyy’s criminal record includes a misdemeanor drug possession case last year, in which he pleaded guilty, as well as a 90-day suspended jail sentence in Connecticut stemming from a 2015 case of larceny in the sixth degree, according to the Globe.

[corbe]

Mass. driver in NH crash that killed 7 has history of DUI charges, suspensions, 5 Investigates says
9 mins ago

The Massachusetts man facing negligent homicide charges in connection with a New Hampshire crash that killed seven motorcyclists has a history of driving under the influence charges and license suspensions, 5 Investigates found.

Volodoymyr Zhukovskyy, 23, of West Springfield, Massachusetts, was charged with seven counts of negligent homicide. He was arrested at 8 a.m. Monday in Massachusetts on a fugitive from justice charge. He was handed over to New Hampshire officials during a brief Monday afternoon court appearance in Springfield.

He will be arraigned Tuesday in Coos County Superior Court in Lancaster, New Hampshire.

Troopers located wax packets containing a residue suspected of being heroin in Zhukovskyy's residence, Massachusetts State Police spokesman David Procopio said. Zhukovskyy has not been charged with a drug offense, Procopio said.

<..snip..>

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/mass-driver-in-nh-crash-that-killed-7-has-history-of-dui-charges-suspensions-5-investigates-says/ar-AADlYps?ocid=ientp