The jury is out within the case of Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, the industrial automobile transporter accused of inflicting the deaths of seven members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club in a 2019 crash in New Hampshire.
After 11 days of testimony and 12 complete trial days — the jury spent the primary day surveying the scene of the crash on a spot of U.S. Highway 2 in Randolph, N.H. — the protection and the prosecutor offered their closing arguments Tuesday shortly earlier than midday.
“This was indeed a tragedy, but we’re not here to decide if this was a tragedy,” mentioned lead protection legal professional Jay Duguay, who offered his closing argument first. “We’re here to decide how this happened, why it happened and who is responsible.”
Duguay, like his co-counsel Steve Mirkin in opening arguments, maintained at closing that it was not his shopper, however Jarheads MC Council President Al “Woody” Mazza who was at fault.
The crash killed Mazza, 59, of Lee, N.H., Jo-Ann and Edward Corr, each 58, of Lakeville; Michael Ferazzi, 62, of Contoocook, N.H.; Desma Oakes, 42, of Concord, N.H.; Daniel Pereira, 58, of Riverside, R.I.; and Aaron Perry, 45, of Farmington, N.H. The Jarheads MC is made up of former U.S. Marines and their spouses.
Zhukovskyy, 26, of West Springfield, faces negligent murder, manslaughter and reckless conduct prices.
It was Mazza’s heavy consumption of Coors Lite, Duguay mentioned, all afternoon forward of the 6:30 p.m. crash — Jarheads members referred to the beer model as “Woody water,” Mirkin mentioned in his opening argument — that induced him to be impaired, not take note of the highway and in the end veer towards the oncoming black 2016 Dodge RAM 2500 with connected automobile transport trailer pushed by Zhukovskyy, 26.
Mazza’s blood examined autopsy at 0.135 blood alcohol content material, properly above the 0.8 BAC authorized restrict. Zhukovskyy, of West Springfield, had taken cocaine, fentanyl and heroin the morning of the crash, in keeping with proof offered on the trial.
Duguay additionally forged doubt on the eyewitness testimony offered at trial, saying that not solely have been the accounts inconsistent with each other however have been usually “internally inconsistent.”
He mentioned prosecutors didn’t convey up State Police evaluation of the crash scene as a result of it wouldn’t assist their case and summarized the protection professional witness, William Howerton of Scientific Boston, Inc., findings that the crash would have occurred even when Zhukovskyy had remained within the middle of his lane as a result of Mazza was headed in that route.
He notably challenged surviving Jarhead member testimony as clearly untruthful as to whether or not they knew who purchased the Coors Lite keg that day and the way a lot Mazza had been ingesting — “because the truth reflects poorly on the club.”
Prosecutor Scott Chase, an assistant New Hampshire legal professional basic, fired again in his closing that the protection’s arguments have been “fanciful theories” and “frivolous distractions … to just make you look away from the facts.”
“This isn’t a mystery. It’s not a whodunit,” he mentioned. “It’s clear what happened here and who caused this crash.”
He maintained that from day one — within the very first interview with police — Zhukovskyy said blankly that he was answerable for this crash. He had mentioned he wasn’t wanting on the highway simply previous to the crash however was as a substitute reaching for his drink cup.
“It doesn’t matter if he was reaching for a cup or reading a newspaper,” Chase mentioned as an example what reckless and negligent conduct is when driving. “Not paying attention to the road is not paying attention to the road.”
He mentioned that whether or not witnesses have been completely in keeping with what they noticed three years in the past or not, the jury constantly heard testimony and “evidence that is overwhelming with threads of consistency” — that Zhukovskyy swerving and his trailer was whipping round and outdoors of the lanes forward of the crash.
“He was crystal clear, in his own words, that he caused this crash,” Chase mentioned. He mentioned “in his own words, that he crossed the line, just a little bit — he made sure to qualify it, ‘just a little bit’ — and that he hit those motorcycles that were right there.”
This is a growing story.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”