New Hampshire authorities are investigating a fiery crash between a pickup truck and a group of motorcycle riders Friday night that left seven bikers dead, and three more injured.
Motorcyclists, including U.S. Marine veterans, and the 2016 Dodge 2500 pickup collided on a rural highway in Randolph, according to WMUR.
Update 12:30 p.m. EDT June 24: A 23-year-old Massachusetts man has been arrested and charged with seven counts of negligent homicide in connection to Friday night's deadly crash, WFXT reported.
Officials with the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office said Volodymyr Zhukovskyy was driving the truck that slammed into motorcyclists Friday night on a rural highway in Randolph, according to WFXT.
Massachusetts State Police told the news station that Zhukovskyy also faces a drug charge related to narcotics found in his home in Springfield. Authorities said he also faces a fugitive from justice charge.
Update 5:45 p.m. EDT June 23: New Hampshire authorities have released the identities of the seven people killed in Friday night's deadly crash.
The victims were all from the New England area and were between the ages of 42 and 62, according to CNN.
New Hampshire Deputy Attorney General Jane Young said all seven died from "blunt trauma," CNN reported.
They were identified as Michael Ferazzi, 62, of Contoocook, New Hampshire; Joanne and Edward Corr, both 58 and from Lakeville, Massachusetts; Daniel Pereira, 58, of Riverside, Rhode Island; Albert Mazza, 49, of Lee, New Hampshire; Aaron Perry, 45, of Farmington, New Hampshire and Desma Oakes, 42, of Concord, New Hampshire.
One of the injured victims is still hospitalized and two others were treated and released from a local hospital.
There’s no word on the 23-year-old pickup driver’s condition.
That National Transportation Safety Board has now joined the investigation into the crash.
Original report: Seven bikers were killed and three more were hurt in a crash Friday night that involved motorcycles and a pickup truck, WMUR reported.
Motorcyclists with a club composed of U.S. Marine veterans collided with a pickup truck on a rural highway leaving the biker community reeling.
According to CNN, the motorcycles collided with a 2016 Dodge 2500 pickup truck that was going in the opposite direction near Randolph, police said.
The crash sent shock waves through New England’s community of motorcycle enthusiasts and military veterans, which sometimes overlap. The crash involved members of Marine JarHeads MC, a motorcycle club in New England that includes Marines and their spouses.
“When something like this happens, we all feel it,” said Cat Wilson, who organizes a motorcycle charity event in Massachusetts and is a friend of some of the crash victims. “There is no tighter community than our biker community.”
A photo posted by WMUR showed motorcycles and wreckage scattered across the highway and a truck on the shoulder in flames. The road reopened Saturday, and skid marks were still visible on the road, which has mountains and fields as a backdrop. A patch of burned grass remained.
"It’s tragic. It’s tragic for those involved, tragic for the families, so we’re doing our job, we’re doing our work and our thoughts are with the people who were adversely affected by this," New Hampshire State Police Capt. Chris Vetter told reporters.
Miranda Thompson, of Manchester, said she was traveling several cars behind the vehicles when the crash occurred, WMUR reported.
"You could see motorcycles dumped all over the road, and you could see people on the phone frantically calling, people pacing back and forth, and just, they were lost," Thompson told the television station. "Everybody got out of their car and helped, got blankets and first-aid kits. Everyone went into action and just helped."
Bill Brown, a 73-year-old military veteran and motorcyclist, arrived at the scene near a gentle curve in the road to plant flags, calling the victims “brothers in arms” and vowing to keep riding.
Members of the motorcycle community are already organizing help for the victims’ families, Wilson said. A memorial in nearby Berlin was planned for Saturday evening.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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