Two Massachusetts men are facing federal charges after a crash involving one of their drivers killed seven members of a motorcycle club in 2019.
On Friday, February 26, the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Massachusetts announced that Westfield Transport, Inc. owner Dunyadar Gasanov (aka Damien Gasanov), 36, has been indicted on on one count of falsification of records, one count of conspiracy to falsify records and one count of making a false statement to a federal investigator. Dartanayan Gasanov, 35, also a Westfield Transport owner, was indicted on one count of falsification of records.
Dartanayan Gasanov was arrested on Friday morning. Dunyadar Gasanov is currently wanted by law enforcement.
A Westfield Transport, Inc. vehicle was involved in a June 21, 2019 crash that occurred on Route 2 in the town of Randolph, New Hampshire, when a group of 10 motorcycles were hit by a pickup truck hauling a trailer that reportedly crossed over the centerline into the eastbound lane. Seven members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club died in the crash. The pickup was operated by 24 year old Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, a Westfield Transport employee at the time.
Westfield Transport shuttered soon after the fatal crash.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, “from May 3, 2019 to June 23, 2019, the defendants falsified driving logs in order to evade federal regulations designed to ensure the safety of roadways and drivers. It is further alleged that Dunyadar Gasanov instructed at least one Westfield Transport employee to falsify records, thereby exceeding the number of permissible driving hours, and then made a false statement to a federal inspector regarding the manipulation of recording devices that track drivers’ on and off duty hours in order to evade regulations.”
The falsification of records is punishable by a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $1 million. The conspiracy to falsify records charge can carry a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of making a false statement to a federal investigator provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.
Zhukovskyy is awaiting a May 3 pretrial hearing on multiple charges, including negligent homicide.
An FMCSA report showed that Zhukovskyy tested positive for an “unspecified” narcotic or amphetamine drug that made him incapable of driving safely at the time of the crash.
Following the crash, troopers said that Zhukovskyy told them that he had “reached downward and attempted to retrieve an object from the bottom area of the center console of his vehicle” just before the crash.
During the post-crash investigation, authorities learned that Zhukovskyy was arrested on May 11, 2019, for OUI in Connecticut and that the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles should have terminated his CDL but failed to do so.