The Story of the Piece of Shit Who Killed 7 Members of the Jarhead MC on a Highway is the Most Infuriating Thing Ever
This is a story that is difficult, if not impossible, to tell. But it needs to be told.
It’s a story of tragedy. Of seven lives senselessly cut down. Lives that were spent in self-sacrifice, valor and selflessness, dedicated to serving other people.
It’s the story of the worst kind of person. Irresponsible, entitled, enabled, reckless and with no regard for other human beings.
And it’s a story of incompetence. Of bureaucratic failure from anonymous government hacks failing to do the one thing – the one thing – we pay them to do: Protect the public.
In that picture above, meet the members of the Jarhead Motor Cycle Club. Five retired United States Marines and two of their wives. The club consists of Marine Corps veterans who raise money to benefit their fellow veterans. And a few days ago they were riding on US Rte 2 heading east through Randolph, NH on their way to a fundraiser at an American Legion Post. In all, 22 riders on 15 motorcycles. Heading west was a bigger threat to their lives than the ones they survived in service to their country.
Killed in the crash were:
Jo-Ann & Edward Corr of Lakeville, MA
Michael Ferazzi of Contoocook, NH
Albert Mazza of Lee, NH
Desma Oakes of Concord, NH
Daniel Pereira of Riverside, RI
Aaron Perry of Farmington, NH
Because behind the wheel of a Dodge 2500 pickup pulling a flatbed trailer designed to carry cars – a load that truck has absolutely no business hauling – was this 23-year-old, Volodymyr Zhukovskyy of West Springfield, MA:
From USA Today:
The criminal complaints allege Zhukovskyy, who was being held without bail, was driving erratically and crossed over the center line of the two-lane highway.
JarHeads president Manny Ribeiro said he was riding on a motorcycle next to Al Mazza, one of those hit by the truck.
“It was just an explosion … with parts and Al and everything flying through the air,” Ribeiro said. “He (Zhukovskyy) turned hard left into us and took out pretty much everyone behind me. … Because the trailer was attached and it was such a big trailer, it was like a whip. It just cleaned us out.”
If this was just a horrible mishap caused by a forgivable mistake made by a decent but flawed human being, I’d feel bad for the driver. And probably not even be writing about it. This is not one of those stories.
Zhukovskyy came here as a refugee from the Ukraine in 2006. And since hitting adulthood, he’s been nothing short of a public fucking menace:
–According to Boston.com, Zhukovshyy got his personal MA driver’s license on April 25. 2013. On the following June 26th, while still not even 21 years old, he was convicted of drunk driving and had his license suspended for 210 days, put on probation. He was declared an “immediate threat” by state officials.
–He got his license back and in 2017 was convicted of drug charges, his drugs of choice being coke and heroin.
–On August 23, 2013, he got his MA Class A Commercial Driver’s License because “driving history did not have the number and type of violations that would have disqualified him under state and federal law from obtaining a CDL.”
–On May 11 of this year, he was popped again for drunk driving in East Windsor, CT, refused to take a Breathalyzer, which is an automatic suspension of your license in Massachusetts. Police also found a crack pipe in the car.
–On June 3rd in Baytown, Texas, he flipped a Mack truck car hauler that was registered in Massachusetts.
–Via Turtleboy Sports, Zhukovskyy’s Facebook posts are lousy with him doing donuts, videoing himself while driving and the not-criminal but by no means not-douchey move of posing with bottles of Hennessey. For what it’s worth, they also accuse him of going to the beach the day after killing five Marines and two Marine wives. I can’t confirm that, obviously. Make up your own mind if the guy responsible for this:
…would also do that.
–And if you’re asking how he could go anywhere after killing, it’s because he was not held in custody. He was questioned and then released. Police came to his house to charge him three days later. And found heroin.
Meaning he couldn’t be bothered to hide the evidencel, even with 72 hours and knowing they’d probably be coming for him at any moment.
This is the guy who was allowed to drive a truck for a company called Westfield Transport Inc., which has over 60 safety violations, including seven involving negligent operation and a couple where the drivers were on drugs, including meth.
Just as enraging, if no more so, this is the guy who had valid personal and commercial driver’s licenses from the MA Registry of Motor Vehicles. With his driving record. And mere weeks since getting popped in Connecticut and refusing a Breathalyzer. At least one person has owned up to it. The rare faceless bureaucrat who’s willing to fall on their sword is head of the RMV Erin Deveney, who did the semi-decent thing and quit in disgrace:
I don’t want to give her too much credit because it’s a goddamned scandal of the highest order that this bucket of guts was legally allowed to drive anything faster than a ride on lawn mower. But since your typical Massachusetts political higher would eat their own dick before they’d walk away from a six figure salary and a fat pension, I’ll back off a little.
But this is what we get. Government failing to do the one thing we expect them to do. For fuck’s sake when I was in my 20s my license got suspended for unpaid parking tickets. And it was a nightmare trying to hack through that rainforest of red tape and fees to get it reinstated. Volodymyr Zhukovskyy has spent his entire adult life screaming into a virtual megaphone “I am a threat to you all and it’s only a matter of time before I kill” and he was legally licensed to drive for … a … living.
I think I speak for us all when I say words can’t express our sorrow or loss for the seven victims, their families, their friends, and their fellow warriors. All I can do is provide the link to the Go Fund Me page set up for them and ask everyone who can to donate. Semper Fi, Marines.