New Hampshire’s governor said Massachusetts state officials are to blame for allowing an undocument Ukrainian immigrant with a record of traffic violations to drive on the road, resulting in a horrific crash that killed seven people in June.
A spokesperson for Chris Sununu, the Republican governor of the Granite State, reacted angrily to comments made by a former Massachusetts motor vehicle official who said New Hampshire authorities should also share some of the blame.
‘Make no mistake: The deficiencies within the Massachusetts RMV under the leadership of [Erin] Deveney resulted in the horrific crash in Randolph,’ Benjamin Vihstadt, a spokesman from the governor’s office, told The Boston Globe on Friday.
Deveney, who resigned as director of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles following the crash, said on Tuesday that both the Bay State and New Hampshire failed to communicate with regards to out-of-state commercial drivers who should have their license suspended.
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu (seen in Washington, DC in February) blasted a former Massachusetts official, saying her agency was to blame for a horrific June crash that killed seven bikers in Randolph, New Hampshire
Erin Deveney (seen above in 2014) resigned as head of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles after it was learned that the agency failed to act on warnings it received about serious driving violations by a Bay State resident who was later involved in the fatal June crash
Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 23, of West Springfield, Massachusetts, pleaded not guilty to seven counts of negligent homicide in the horror crash in Randolph on June 21. The photo on the right shows him in May after he was arrested in Connecticut for driving under the influence
‘For Ms. Deveney to try and conflate the severity of their problem with New Hampshire is shameful and reaffirms why she no longer has a job,’ Vihstadt said in a statement.
When asked by the Globe if New Hampshire authorities failed to send licensing alerts to Massachusetts when a driver committed a serious violation, Vihstadt did not reply.
He said Sununu ordered a review of his state’s operations following the crash, though he did not specify which steps were taken.
Deveney told Massachusetts lawmakers on Tuesday that the state’s usual mechanism for sharing driver information electronically with New Hampshire did not function property beginning in 2017.
She said that while Massachusetts continued to send alerts to New Hampshire officials about that state’s drivers who violated the law in Massachusetts, New Hampshire did not reciprocate.
‘I didn’t have authority to compel New Hampshire to resume their electronic sharing of information with Massachusetts,’ she said.
Deveney resigned from her position after it was learned that her agency failed to act on thousands of out-of-state notifications about serious driving violations.
Wrecked motorcycles were seen strewn across the rural two-lane highway where the incident occurred in Randolph, New Hampshire on June 21
Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 23, of West Springfield, Massachusetts, pleaded not guilty to seven counts of negligent homicide in the horror crash in Randolph on June 21.
He is being held without bail in the Coos County House of Corrections.
According to a federal inspection report that was published on Thursday, Zhukovskyy was on drugs and reached for a beverage just before colliding with a group of bikers.
The seven who died were members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, a New England group that includes Marines and their spouses.
A phone message seeking comment was left with a lawyer for Zhukovskyy.
A spokeswoman for the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office said the office could not comment on the report, citing the ongoing investigation and prosecution.
The tragic incident occurred on Route 2 near the town of Randolph, New Hampshire shortly before 6.30pm. The pickup truck burst into flames after striking the bikers
Since the crash, it has emerged that Zhukovskyy had multiple run-ins with the law.
In May, Connecticut prosecutors said Zhukovskyy was arrested in a Walmart parking lot after failing a sobriety test.
Zhukovskyy’s lawyer in that case, John O’Brien, said he denies being intoxicated and will fight the charge.
Connecticut officials twice alerted Massachusetts about an earlier drunken driving arrest.
Massachusetts investigators later determined the Registry of Motor Vehicles hadn’t been acting on thousands of out-of-state notifications about serious driving violations.
Also, police in Texas told several media outlets that Zhukovskyy also crashed a tractor trailer in suburban Houston in June.
Zhukovskyy told police that he had been cut off, causing him to lose control of the truck. He was not charged.
Zhukovskyy was also arrested on a drunken driving charge in 2013 in Westfield, Massachusetts, state records show.
He was placed on probation for one year and had his license suspended for 210 days, The Westfield News reported.
The driver of the pickup truck was said to have been uninjured after the crash, which involved 10 bikers. Seven bikers died and three others were hospitalized
The Massachusetts company that Zhukovskyy was driving for on the day of June 21 crash also has a troubled history.
According to an Associated Press analysis of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration data, Westfield Transport Inc. faced over 60 violations over the last 24 months.
About one in five inspections of its vehicles ended with federal investigators issuing temporary orders saying the carrier was not authorized to operate.
The company’s out-of-service rate is 20.8% — a figure nearly four times greater than the national average of 5.5%.
Federal records show the company has faced seven violations for unsafe driving, including speeding.
The company also faced two violations in March 2018, reported in Massachusetts and Vermont, of drivers who were in possession of a narcotic drug or amphetamine.
Witnesses described a ‘devastating’ scene as bystanders tried to help riders that were peppered along the highway
A person answering the phone at Westfield Transport, who did not identify himself, would only say the company no longer exists and that he wanted to express condolences to the victims.
He did not want to comment further and hung up the phone.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency is taking steps to ensure Zhukovskyy remains in custody even if his criminal case were dismissed.
Zhukovskyy’s father told the Boston Herald that his son is a Ukrainian citizen and has permanent resident status in the United States.
Jail Superintendent Ben Champagne said ICE placed a detainer on Zhukovskyy on Tuesday.
A detainer means even if the case were to be dismissed, Zhukovskyy would be turned over to ICE for possible deportation.
A spokesperson for ICE confirmed that a detainer was issued.
Biker victims of the horror crash
The victims of the crash on June 21 in Randolph, New Hampshire have been identified.
Authorities identified the seven bikers who died in the crash with a pickup truck. Among the victims were Joanne and Edward Corr, both 58, (pictured) of Lakeville, Massachusetts
Bikers Desma Oakes, 42, of Concord, New Hampshire, and Aaron Perry, 45, of Farmington, New Hampshire, were also killed in the crash
The victims – including Daniel Pereira, 58, of Riverside, Rhode Island (left), and Albert Mazza, 49, of Lee, New Hampshire (right) – were members or supporters of the Marine JarHeads
The Marine JarHeads is a New England motorcycle club that includes Marines and their spouses. Michael Ferazzi, 62, of Contoocook, New Hampshire, was among the crash victims