Driver in deaths of motorcyclists had long history

CONCORD, N.H. — The driver involved in a crash that killed seven motorcyclists in New Hampshire was high on drugs and reached for a beverage just before colliding with a group of bikers, according to details from a federal inspection report that were published Thursday.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration report obtained by The Boston Globe said that Volodymyr Zhukovskyy tested positive for an unspecified drug that made him incapable of driving safely when his pickup truck crossed the center yellow line and crashed into the motorcyclists. Zhukovskyy also admitted that he reached for a drink just before the crash, according to the report. The Globe did not say what kind of drink.

Zhukovskyy, 23, of West Springfield, Massachusetts, has pleaded not guilty to negligent homicide in the crash. 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.

Since the crash, it has emerged that Zhukovskyy had multiple runins 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 Massachusetts company that Zhukovskyy was driving for on the day of June 21 crash also has a troubled history.