A Massachusetts state official resigned her post as head of the Registry of Motor Vehicles on Tuesday, after admitting she failed to terminate the commercial driver’s license of Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 23, the man charged with negligent homicide in Friday’s deadly crash in Randolph, NH, according to the Boston Herald.
Mass. RMV Registrar Erin Deveney took responsibility Tuesday for not acting on the information provided by Connecticut DMV about a May 11 drunken driving charge against Zhukovskyy in East Windsor, CT.
At the time of the crash Zhukovskyy was free on $2,500 bond for that charge.
The following statement was released Tuesday by Mass. Secretary of Transporation Stephanie Pollack:
“The loss of life in any motor vehicle crash is a terrible tragedy and the massive toll this crash is taking on the families of the seven individuals who lost their lives, many of whom served this country, is impossible to comprehend. The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles has a responsibility to enforce the laws governing safe operation of vehicles and carries out its mission to the best of its abilities. But in this case, the RMV had not acted on information provided by the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles about a May 11 incident that should have triggered termination of this individual’s commercial driver’s license. Effective immediately, former MassDOT Chief Operating Officer Jamey Tesler will take over as Acting Registrar of the RMV as I have accepted Registrar Erin Deveney’s resignation. Jamey will lead an in depth review of the Registry’s state-to-state data sharing processes to ensure the RMV acts as quickly as possible on any information shared by other states.”
Zhukovskyy pleaded not guilty Tuesday to seven counts of negligent homicide.
On Tuesday the Boston Globe reported that Mass. state troopers found “wax packets containing a residue suspected of being heroin.” However, the substance was not confirmed to be heroin and Zhukovskyy was not charged with drug possession.
You can read the full Herald story here.
