According to court documents, Damien Gasanov also admitted to lying about how long he knew Westfield Transport driver Volodymyr Zhukovskyy who was involved in the fatal 2019 crash in which seven Jarheads Motorcycle Club motorcyclists died in Randolph, New. Hampshire. . He also admitted to knowing that Zhukovsky had been charged with operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol years before the accident, according to court documents.

Trucking company owner pleads guilty to falsifying logbooks in fatal motorcycle crash
Westfield Transport owners charged with falsifying driving logs

According to Westfield Transport business records with the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s office, Dunyadar Gasanov, who was listed as a Westfield Transport supervisor, was indicted in February 2021, along with his brother, Dartanayan Gasanov, who pleaded no contest. guilty and is awaiting trial. . Documents filed with the state agency list Dartanayan Gasanov as president, treasurer, secretary and director of the closed auto transport company.

“By falsifying security records and lying to investigators, (Damien Gasanov) put profits ahead of public safety, with potentially devastating consequences,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy said in a statement. statement. “Compliance with federal safety regulations is essential to protecting public safety and our office is committed to holding accountable anyone who flouts them in this way.”

Westfield driver acquitted

In July 2022, a jury acquitted Westfield Transport driver Zhukovskyy, now 30, of murdering seven members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club. He initially faced seven counts of negligent homicide, seven counts of involuntary manslaughter and one charge of reckless driving in the June 19, 2019, collision in rural New Hampshire.

However, jurors concluded that the Jarheads’ main motorcyclist, Albert “Woody” Mazza, was impaired and was traveling over the center line of the road at the time of the collision. Zhukovsky was pulling an empty flatbed trailer at the time of the accident. It was his first trip as a driver for Westfield Transport.

What happened?

According to court documents, from May 2019 to June 23, 2019, the owners of Westfield Transport allegedly falsified driver logbooks “in order to evade federal regulations intended to keep roads and drivers safe.”

In a court filing, Dunyadar Gasanov admitted that he directed at least one Westfield Transport employee to falsify records in order to exceed hours of service limits. He then “made a false statement to a federal inspector about tampering with recording devices that record drivers’ work and rest hours in order to evade regulation,” according to federal prosecutors.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), an independent agency called in to investigate the fatal crash, states in his report that the owners of Westfield Transport attempted to add Zhukovsky to their insurance policy an hour after the driver was involved in the fatal accident.

NTSB investigators also confirmed that on the day of the fatal accident, Zhukovsky was using paper logs.

Read more articles by Clarissa Hawes.

Read other articles here:

Florida Trucking Company Owner Convicted of $112 Million Ponzi Scam
Tech battle continues as Samsara files new lawsuit against rival Motive