In the wake of a crash involving a commercial driver’s license holder in New Hampshire last month that left seven motorcyclists dead, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has proposed legislation to tighten CDL standards in the state.
According to a USA Today report, the suspect in the crash, 23-year-old Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, is a Massachusetts CDL holder with a checkered driving and arrest history. The report states that the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles has acknowledged since the crash that Zhukovskyy’s license should have been revoked in May following a drunken driving arrest in Connecticut.
In response, Gov. Baker sent a bill to the state legislature titled, “An Act to Promote Commercial Driver Safety.” The legislation, if passed, would:
The crash that sparked the bill occurred on June 21 when Zhukovskyy, who lives in West Springfield, Massachusetts, collided with a group of motorcyclists while driving a 2016 Dodge 2500 with a flatbed trailer.
According to a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report released Wednesday, July 24, Zhukovskyy crossed the double-yellow line on Highway 2 in Randolph, New Hampshire, and collided with the oncoming motorcycles. A fire broke out after the crash, NTSB says. The agency says that while Zhukovskyy held a CDL, the truck he was driving that day had a gross weight rating of less than 26,001 pounds and did not require a CDL. However, the carrier, Westfield Transport, was subject to federal regulations including hours of service and drug and alcohol testing.
Zhukovskyy was driving for Westfield, an eight-truck operation based in West Springfield, Massachusetts. The motorcyclists were part of the Marine Jarheads Motorcycle Club, a New England-based group that includes Marine veterans and their spouses. Zhukovskyy has been charged with seven counts of vehicular homicide.
According to FMCSA data, Westfield has had seven vehicle out-of-service violations and 12 driver out-of-service violations in the last two years. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced her office is opening an investigation into Westfield Transport over its role in the crash.
