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Survivor of NH Crash That Killed 7 Motorcyclists Sues Pickup Driver, Trucking Company

Joshua Morin, of Dalton, Massachusetts, fractured three bones in his left leg and sustained several other injuries in the June 21 accident

A survivor of a collision in New Hampshire that claimed the lives of seven motorcyclists has sued the driver charged in connection with the crash and the Massachusetts trucking company that employed him.

Attorney John Haymond tells The Boston Globe he filed the negligence suit Tuesday in Hampden Superior Court in Springfield, Massachusetts on behalf of Joshua Morin.

Haymond says Morin, of Dalton, Massachusetts, fractured leg bones and sustained other injuries in the June 21 crash in Randolph, New Hampshire. He remains hospitalized.

The suit names Westfield Transport Inc. and Volodymyr Zhukovskyy. Zhukovskyy, 23, of West Springfield, has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of negligent homicide filed in connection with the crash.

Zhukovskyy's public defender was on vacation and couldn't be reached. A man who answered the phone at Westfield Transport on Wednesday hung up on a reporter.

Investigators said Zhukovskyy's Dodge pickup truck was towing a flatbed trailer as it traveled west on Route 2 in Randolph when it crossed into the eastbound lane and collided with the group of 10 motorcyclists, members of the Massachusetts chapter of the JarHeads Motorcycle Club.

Zhukovskyy, an immigrant from the Ukraine, has a lengthy record of incidents on the road. He was arrested on OUI charges in 2013 in Westfield, Massachusetts, and again last month in Connecticut, when he was allegedly found at a Walmart revving his truck engine and jumping around outside his vehicle.

The company that employed Zhukovskyy, Westfield Transport, also has a history of violations, including seven for unsafe driving, according to an Associated Press review of federal vehicle safety data. 

Zhukovskyy still had his commercial driver's license at the time of the wreck, but Massachusetts determined afterward that it should have been revoked based on the May 11 OUI arrest in Connecticut.

In the wake of the New Hampshire accident, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and other top state officials have promised to conduct a full review of the Registry of Motor Vehicles to determine why out-of-state notifications about driving offenses weren't being reviewed.

The fallout from the crash led to the resignation of Erin Deveney, the former head of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. Former MassDOT Chief Operating Officer Jamey Tesler is currently serving as acting registrar.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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