Virginia Bus Driver Faces Additional Charges After Fatal Crash

The bus driver involved in a tragic highway crash in Virginia has been charged with additional involuntary manslaughter counts. Five people lost their lives in the incident last week. Prosecutors announced new charges on Monday.

Jing Sheng Dong, aged 48, from Staten Island, New York, drove the tour bus involved in the crash. He now faces three more felony counts connected to the fatalities, along with a misdemeanor charge for reckless driving, as per Eric Olsen, the Stafford Commonwealth District Attorney. Previously, Dong was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.

Each involuntary manslaughter charge may result in up to ten years of imprisonment, stated the prosecutor. Nearly 48 others sustained injuries in the early morning crash on May 30, including Dong himself, who remains hospitalized. After his release, he will be moved to Rappahannock Regional Jail.

The Virginia State Police’s initial investigation indicated slow traffic in the southbound lane of Interstate 95, near a construction zone in Stafford County. Dong allegedly failed to reduce speed and collided with six vehicles at approximately 2:35 a.m.

The National Transportation Safety Board, along with state police, are investigating. They noted that E&P Travel of Kings Mountain, North Carolina, operated the bus, which was traveling from New York to North Carolina.

The bus initially struck a Chevrolet Suburban, leading to a chain reaction involving an Acura SUV and other vehicles. The Acura’s four passengers, a family from Greenfield, Massachusetts, were killed. They included 45-year-old Dmitri Doncev, his wife, Ecterina, 44, their 13-year-old daughter, Emily, and their 7-year-old son, Mark. CBS Boston reported they were en route to a wedding in South Carolina.

The victim from the Suburban was identified as 25-year-old Priscilla Mafalda from Worcester, Massachusetts, as confirmed by state police.