Current:Home > ScamsTrucking company owner pleads guilty to charges related to crash that killed 7 bikers -ProfitClass
Trucking company owner pleads guilty to charges related to crash that killed 7 bikers
View
Date:2025-04-16 18:16:49
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! (7639)
Related
- Small twin
- Who are the victims in Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse? What we know about those missing and presumed dead
- West Virginia animal shelter pleads for help fostering dogs after truck crashes into building
- Being HIV-positive will no longer automatically disqualify police candidates in Tennessee city
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- School board postpones vote on new busing plan after audit on route change disaster
- MyPillow, owned by election denier Mike Lindell, faces eviction from Minnesota warehouse
- Ex-Trump lawyer Eastman should lose state law license for efforts to overturn election, judge says
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- Hawaii says 30 Lahaina fire survivors are moving into housing daily but 3,000 are still in hotels
Ranking
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- Mega Millions has a winner! Lucky player in New Jersey wins $1.13 billion lottery jackpot
- Ex-Diddy associate alleges arrested Brendan Paul was mogul's drug 'mule,' Yung Miami was sex worker
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Middle of the Road
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Rebel Wilson Alleges Sacha Baron Cohen Asked Her to Stick Finger in His Butt
- South Korean Rapper Youngji Lee Wants You To Break Molds With Coach Outlet’s Latest Colorful Drop
- What we know about the Moscow concert hall attack claimed by ISIS in Russia
Recommendation
Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
Brittany Snow Reveals “Saddest Part” of Ex Tyler Stanaland's Selling The OC Drama
The Daily Money: No more sneaking into the Costco food court?
Mega Millions has a winner! Lucky player in New Jersey wins $1.13 billion lottery jackpot
Sam Taylor
A $500K house was built on the wrong Hawaii lot. A legal fight is unfolding over the mix-up
Florida bed and breakfast for sale has spring swimming with manatees: See photos
Suspect in 3 Pennsylvania killings makes initial court appearance on related New Jersey charges