CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire court ruled Friday that some evidence related to the driving and drug use of the pickup driver whose collision with a group of bikers last year left seven motorcyclists dead was admissible in his criminal case.
The Superior Court decided that evidence of Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, of West Springfield, Massachusetts, driving erratically earlier in the day of the crash was admissible. It also allowed prosecutor’s request to admit evidence of the defendant’s criminal past including an instance of illegal drug use.
But the court denied a request to admit evidence of two instances of Zhukovskyy driving erratically in the past.
Zhukovskyy has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of negligent homicide and driving under the influence and awaits trial.
Earlier this month, Republican Gov. Chris Sununu marked a year since the crash happened. Sununu remembered “the fallen seven” at a news conference in Concord and recalled how the tragedy had brought the state’s residents together.
The crash happened on June 21, 2019, in Randolph. The seven were members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, a New England group that includes Marines and their spouses. The victims were from New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Sununu recalled the tribute that followed, when thousands of motorcyclists made a 90-mile (145-kilometer) trip from Laconia to Randolph.
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