A Massachusetts man severely injured in a 2019 crash in New Hampshire that killed seven members of his motorcycle club has filed a lawsuit against the Massachusetts Registrar of Motor Vehicles for allegedly failing to suspend the driver’s license of the man charged in connection with the crash.
Joshua Morin, of Dalton, alleges in his lawsuit filed last week in Berkshire Superior Court that the agency acted willfully, wantonly or recklessly when it failed to process thousands of license suspensions and revocations reported from out-of-state, The Berkshire Eagle reported.
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That failure allowed Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, whose license had been suspended in Connecticut after an operating under the influence charge, to continue driving, according to the lawsuit.
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Connecticut sent notice of Zhukovskyy’s license suspension to Massachusetts, but the notice was not processed because of “a defect” in the registry’s computer system, the suit said.
A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, which oversees the registry, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Morin is seeking unspecified monetary compensation for injuries, medical expenses, lost wages, and suffering, according to the suit.
The Marine Corps veteran said he is still recovering from the June 21, 2019, crash in Randolph, New Hampshire, and will soon have his 25th surgery.
“Physically, I’m still beat up. My leg doesn’t work like a normal left leg should work, and emotionally, it’s a roller coaster depending on what day it is, depends on how I feel,” he told The Eagle.
The victims were members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, made up of Marine veterans and their spouses.
Zhukovskyy 25, of West Springfield, Massachusetts, has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of negligent homicide, manslaughter, driving under the influence and reckless conduct stemming from the crash. He has been in jail since the crash and his trial is expected to start in July.
