Current:Home > MarketsTrucking company owner pleads guilty to charges related to crash that killed 7 bikers-LoTradeCoin
Trucking company owner pleads guilty to charges related to crash that killed 7 bikers
View Date:2024-12-23 23:57:31
BOSTON (AP) — An owner of a now defunct trucking company agreed to plead guilty Tuesday to federal charges related to a deadly crash in New Hampshire that killed seven motorcyclists.
Dunyadar Gasanov, 39, pled guilty in Springfield, Massachusetts to three counts of making false statements to federal investigators. The car transport company he owned, Westfield Transport, Inc., employed Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, a commercial trucker driver who was involved in 2019 crash that left seven motorcyclists dead in northern New Hampshire.
Gasanov was accused of falsifying driver logs to avoid federal road safety regulations including exceeding limits on the hours a driver can operate. He also instructed at least one employee to falsify records by deactivating logging devices in order to exceed the allowable driving hours and lied about it to federal investigators. He also claimed to federal investigators that he had met Zhukovskyy the day he was hired when, in fact, he had known him for years and was aware that Zhukovskyy had been charged with drunken driving.
“Keeping communities safe takes all forms. In this case, it is about making sure that operators of commercial vehicles adhere to all required safety procedures and regulations,” Acting United States Attorney Joshua Levy said in a statement. “We will not forget the lives in June 2019 that relate to this conviction. This defendant flouted those laws that are critical to public safety, and he jeopardized everyone on the road, with tragic consequences here.”
A lawyer for Gasanov, Peter Slepchuk, had no comment when reached about the plea agreement.
Gasanov, who is set to be sentenced Nov. 21, faces five years imprisonment, one year of supervised release and a $10,000 fine on each count. His co-defendant, Dartanayan Gasanov, pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial. Both were indicted in 2021.
A jury in 2022 found Volodymyr Zhukovskyy not guilty of multiple manslaughter and negligent homicide counts stemming from the June 21, 2019, collision in Randolph that killed seven members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, an organization of Marine Corps veterans and their spouses in New England.
Zhukovskyy’s Massachusetts license was automatically suspended in New Hampshire after his arrest following the crash, but he sought to reinstate it earlier this year. An administrative law judge for the Department of Safety upheld the suspension in May, and after a hearing last month, issued an order Wednesday extending it until June 2026, seven years after the crash.
Seven years is the maximum allowed under the law. The state had argued the clock should start this year, meaning the license would remain suspended until 2031.
During the June hearing, family and friends of those who died and survivors of the crash implored the judge to impose the maximum suspension.
“Someone that caused such incredible, horrible pain to so many people has the audacity to say ‘I want my privilege back,’” David Bark, a member of the Jarheads, said at the hearing. “It’s not a constitutional right to drive a car, to operate a motor vehicle on a public access highway. This is a privilege.”
veryGood! (8)
Related
- Secret Service Agent Allegedly Took Ex to Barack Obama’s Beach House
- What the Cast of Dance Moms Has Been Up to Off the Dance Floor
- Ukrainian President Zelenskyy will visit a Pennsylvania ammunition factory to thank workers
- When does the new season of 'SNL' come out? Season 50 premiere date, cast, host, more
- Mike Tyson is expected to honor late daughter during Jake Paul fight. Here's how.
- A strike by Boeing factory workers shows no signs of ending after its first week
- The Eagles deploy pristine sound, dazzling visuals at Vegas Sphere kickoff concert: Review
- Biden opens busy foreign policy stretch as anxious allies shift gaze to Trump, Harris
- Satellite images and documents indicate China working on nuclear propulsion for new aircraft carrier
- Federal judge temporarily blocks Tennessee’s ‘abortion trafficking’ law
Ranking
- Vikings' Camryn Bynum celebrates game-winning interception with Raygun dance
- Caren Bohan tapped to lead USA TODAY newsroom as editor-in-chief
- Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield says Tom Brady created 'high-strung' environment
- Teen Mom's Catelynn Lowell Slams Claims She Chose Husband Tyler Baltierra Over Daughter Carly
- Princess Kate makes rare public appearance after completing cancer chemo
- The legacy of 'Lost': How the show changed the way we watch TV
- North America’s Biggest Food Companies Are Struggling to Lower Their Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- New Jersey Devils agree to three-year deal with Dawson Mercer
Recommendation
-
California Gov. Gavin Newsom will spend part of week in DC as he tries to Trump-proof state policies
-
Gilmore Girls Star Kelly Bishop Shares Touching Memories of On-Screen Husband Ed Herrmann
-
Friends Creators Address Matthew Perry's Absence Ahead of Show's 30th Anniversary
-
North Carolina’s governor vetoes private school vouchers and immigration enforcement orders
-
Amazon Black Friday 2024 sales event will start Nov. 21: See some of the deals
-
GM recalls 450,000 pickups, SUVs including Escalades: See if your vehicle is on list
-
Kentucky sheriff charged in judge’s death allegedly ignored deputy’s abuse of woman in his chambers
-
Bachelor Nation's Kelsey Anderson Shuts Down Jealousy Rumors Amid Fiancé Joey Graziadei's DWTS Run