Some of the motorcyclists who survived the 2019 Randolph crash in which seven motorcyclists were killed say they have more questions than answers after the man accused of causing the crash was found not guilty. Crash survivors Dawn Brindley and Manuel Ribeiro said the not guilty verdict in the trial of Volodymyr Zhukovskyy was not the outcome they were hoping for. They recalled feeling anxious and nervous when they heard a verdict had been reached.”I just had a feeling in my stomach that we were going to get something out of it,” Ribeiro said. “Maybe not the max, but we were going to get something.”It took the jury less than three hours to find Zhukovskyy not guilty of all 15 charges he faced. “Not guilty, not guilty, not guilty — we were in shock,” Ribeiro said. “In total shock.””I thought I was in another nightmare again,” Brindley said. “It all came back to me.” Brindley and Ribeiro said they respect the work of prosecutors, but they wish the state had called more witnesses, including Ribeiro himself who was driving right behind Al Mazza on the lead motorcycle before the crash. Ribeiro said he was sequestered but never called at trial. “Without my piece of the puzzle, I feel like, in the end, would it have helped? I don’t know,” Ribeiro said. “Certainly in my mind, I feel like it would’ve helped.”With the trial now over, Brindley and Ribeiro said it’s important to remember the seven lives lost that June night. “They were good people,” Ribeiro said. “All of them, including Al. They were all good people. We lost seven good people that day.””I’ll always remember them, and I hope everyone else does, too,” Brindley said. “They were good people. They were really good people.”Brindley and Ribeiro said the case has been hanging over them for three years, but they will now begin a new chapter as they try to move on and heal.
Some of the motorcyclists who survived the 2019 Randolph crash in which seven motorcyclists were killed say they have more questions than answers after the man accused of causing the crash was found not guilty.
Crash survivors Dawn Brindley and Manuel Ribeiro said the not guilty verdict in the trial of Volodymyr Zhukovskyy was not the outcome they were hoping for. They recalled feeling anxious and nervous when they heard a verdict had been reached.
“I just had a feeling in my stomach that we were going to get something out of it,” Ribeiro said. “Maybe not the max, but we were going to get something.”
It took the jury less than three hours to find Zhukovskyy not guilty of all 15 charges he faced.
“Not guilty, not guilty, not guilty — we were in shock,” Ribeiro said. “In total shock.”
“I thought I was in another nightmare again,” Brindley said. “It all came back to me.”
Brindley and Ribeiro said they respect the work of prosecutors, but they wish the state had called more witnesses, including Ribeiro himself who was driving right behind Al Mazza on the lead motorcycle before the crash. Ribeiro said he was sequestered but never called at trial.
“Without my piece of the puzzle, I feel like, in the end, would it have helped? I don’t know,” Ribeiro said. “Certainly in my mind, I feel like it would’ve helped.”
With the trial now over, Brindley and Ribeiro said it’s important to remember the seven lives lost that June night.
“They were good people,” Ribeiro said. “All of them, including Al. They were all good people. We lost seven good people that day.”
“I’ll always remember them, and I hope everyone else does, too,” Brindley said. “They were good people. They were really good people.”
Brindley and Ribeiro said the case has been hanging over them for three years, but they will now begin a new chapter as they try to move on and heal.