The specter of the June 2019 tragedy where seven motorcyclists lost their lives in New Hampshire loomed over a Boston courtroom as Dunyadar Gasanov, former co-owner of Westfield Transport, received his sentence for criminal misconduct that preceded the crash. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Gasanov was given two months behind bars followed by one year of supervised release, with the stipulation that he will not engage in commercial driving. The court's decision falls short of the one-year prison term that was recommended by the government.
During the period between May 3 and June 23, 2019, court documents indicate that Gasanov, alongside his co-defendant Dartanyan Gasanov, who is awaiting trial, manipulated driving logs to circumvent federal regulations. In effect, they risked public safety for what can be presumed as economic gain. This manipulation allowed drivers to exceed legal driving hours, thus elevating the potential for roadway disasters. "Adhering to federal safety regulations is critical to protecting public safety and our office is committed to holding accountable anyone who flouts them in this manner," Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy stated in a release acquired by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
As per the investigations, Gasanov knowingly hired a driver with a history of driving under the influence of alcohol—a history he was privy to long before the driver was involved in the fatal crash during his initial run for Westfield Transport. Gasanov's other actions included giving false statements to federal inspectors, particularly denying any prior relationship with the said driver and misrepresenting the level of due diligence conducted during the hiring process, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Christopher A. Scharf, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General for the Northeastern Region, emphasized the accountability ensured by the sentencing. "The sentence announced today reinforces that there are real consequences for those who endanger the safety of the traveling public by flagrantly circumventing federal laws and regulations," he articulated, keeping in honor the loved ones who continue to grieve from the 2019 incident, as detailed by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The case against Gasanov was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil L. Desroches of the Springfield Branch Office, with the allegations in the indictment being treated as such until proven in court. The story of Westfield Transport is a stark reminder of the heavy toll when safety regulations are treated as burdens rather than safeguards, where human lives become the ultimate price of wanton negligence.
