After crash, trucker’s blood showed heroin-related substance

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A forensic toxicologist has testified that blood drawn from a truck driver two hours after he was in a deadly collision with motorcyclists in 2019 showed the presence of a substance made when the body breaks down heroin.

Donna Papsun of Pennsylvania-based NMS Labs said Monday that “6-MAM” was found in an amount “below the reporting limit,” the concentration of substances that can be measured accurately.

She was questioned by lawyers during the trial of Volodymyr Zhukovskyy about how long heroin stays in the system.

Prosecutors say he was impaired at the time of the head-on crash in New Hampshire.

His lawyers said the lead motorcyclist was drunk and caused the crash.