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Pickup driver in N.H. motorcycle crash charged with 7 negligent homicides

Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 23, was charged Monday with seven counts of negligent homicide after Friday's deadly Route 2 crash in Randolph, New Hampshire.

CONCORD, N.H. — The pickup truck driver involved in Friday's deadly Randolph, New Hampshire, motorcycle crash in which seven riders died has been charged with seven counts of negligent homicide, authorities announced Monday.

Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 23, was arrested around 8 a.m. Monday by Massachusetts State Police at his home on Newbridge Street in West Springfield. He was taken into custody on a New Hampshire fugitive from justice charge stemming from an arrest warrant issued earlier in the day.

Zhukovskyy later appeared before a judge Monday in Massachusetts' Springfield District Court in a hearing that took about six minutes, during which the judge said not guilty pleas had been entered by the defense.

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Zhukovskyy waived a right to rendition, accepting an extradition to Coos County in New Hampshire, and a custody transfer took place within the courtroom between authorities from both states. The investigation remained active.

He'll be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Coos County Superior Court.

Zhukovskyy was identified Saturday as the driver of the Dodge 2500 hauling a trailer that collided with 10 motorcycles along Route 2. Those killed as a result of the crash were identified Sunday — four were from New Hampshire, two were from Massachusetts and one was from Rhode Island.

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Donald Frank, Zhukovskyy's attorney, spoke with reporters after the court appearance, commenting on the age of his client and the tragedy overall.

"It's tragic for the families involved, it's tragic for the victims and it's tragic for [Zhukovskyy's] family, too. And I'm not trying to equate that they're all the same – I'm making no such suggestion – but I'm hoping that everyone be respectful toward the people who died in this case, and respectful for what [Zhukovskyy] has to go through, too," Frank said. "I think a 23-year-old is right on the cusp, still, of having a fully developed adult brain. It's an emerging thing. And 23-year-olds are different than people my age.

"Justice will be meted out. Justice will be served, I'm sure, in New Hampshire, and the issue for everybody here is respect, and allow this process to go forward without people harassing his family and without people harassing him," Frank said. "I understand. I understand that the people who are involved, the victims in this case, may be members of our military or related to members of our military, and they don't deserve this. Everyone understands that. It extends this – it makes it a bigger tragedy because they've served our country. Nobody deserves what they got … this is a tragedy for all."

Frank will remain the defendant's legal representative until he is appointed another lawyer in New Hampshire.

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