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Truck Driver Arrested After Motorcycle Crash That Left 7 Dead

The scene where several motorcycles and a pickup truck collided on a rural highway on Friday in Randolph, N.H.Credit...Miranda Thompson, via Associated Press

The driver of a pickup truck that collided with a group of motorcyclists, leaving seven of them dead and three injured on a rural highway in New Hampshire on Friday night, has been arrested in Massachusetts, the New Hampshire attorney general’s office said on Monday.

The driver, Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 23, was charged with being a fugitive from justice, a legal mechanism that allows him to be in custody while he is extradited to New Hampshire, the state attorney general’s office said. Mr. Zhukovskyy was arrested at his home in West Springfield, Mass., early Monday morning.

It was unclear on Monday whether Mr. Zhukovskyy had legal representation.

The attorney general’s office said it was preparing to charge him with seven counts of negligent homicide. He did not flee the scene, said Kate Spiner, a spokeswoman. She declined to say if he had a record of driving under the influence, citing a continuing investigation.

A survivor, Manny Ribeiro, 48, recalled the “horror and hell” of the accident on Monday. “The guy should have been arrested on the spot as far as I am concerned.”

Those killed were identified as: Michael Ferazzi, 62; Albert Mazza, 59; Desma Oakes, 42; and Aaron Perry, 45 — all from New Hampshire; Daniel Pereira, 58, of Riverside, R.I.; and Jo-Ann Corr and Edward Corr, both 58, of Lakeville, Mass. They were former Marines — except for Ms. Corr, who belonged to a group called the Jarheads Motorcycle Club.

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Jane Young, the New Hampshire deputy attorney general, during a news briefing on the motorcycle crash on Sunday. Pictures of the victims were shown on the screen.Credit...Leah M. Willingham/The Concord Monitor, via Associated Press

They were riding east on Route 2 in Randolph, N.H., when a pickup truck, a 2016 Dodge 2500 toting a trailer, veered over the yellow line and “jackknifed” into the motorcyclists’ lane around 6:30 p.m., according to Jerry Hammane, the owner of the Inn at Bowman Bed and Breakfast, which is 1,000 yards from the crash site. He heard an explosion from the crash and went out to the scene with a doctor.

Mr. Ribeiro recounted his actions as he returned home from a doctor’s visit on Monday. “I was able to control my bike” and “to slowly crash on the grass and not hurt myself,” he said.

“Once I knew my wife was O.K., I just turned around and saw absolute horror and hell,” Mr. Ribeiro said. “It was the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my life. It was awful — there was a very loud explosion. It happened very fast. It was complete and utter chaos.”

The motorcycle group was on its way to the American Legion in New Hampshire for their annual meeting when they decided to take a scenic ride, Mr. Ribeiro said. He recalled there was a small hill on the road, and when the motorcyclists reached the top, they were sideswiped by the truck.

“We didn’t see him, and he didn’t see us,” Mr. Ribeiro said, adding that once the truck and the motorcycle group met on the road there was nowhere to go.

“When we looked, there was nobody coming, there were no headlights, nothing,” Mr. Ribeiro said. “He definitely didn’t see us; he came down the hill too fast.”

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