Bus Driver Indicted on Additional Charges Following Virginia Crash

The bus driver involved in a Virginia highway accident that resulted in the deaths of five individuals has been charged with additional involuntary manslaughter counts. Prosecutors announced on Monday that Jing Sheng Dong, a 48-year-old tour bus driver from Staten Island, New York, faces three more felony charges related to the fatalities. He is also charged with a misdemeanor for reckless driving, according to Stafford Commonwealth District Attorney Eric Olsen.

Dong was initially charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Each felony count of involuntary manslaughter could lead to a prison sentence of up to 10 years, the prosecutor stated.

The accident, which occurred in the early morning hours of May 30, also resulted in injuries to nearly four dozen other people, including Dong himself. He was still in the hospital as of Monday, with plans to transfer him to the Rappahannock Regional Jail upon his release, Olsen noted.

Virginia State Police reported that the incident took place in the southbound lane of Interstate 95 in Stafford County, where traffic was slowing near a construction area. The bus driver reportedly “failed to slow for traffic” and collided with six vehicles around 2:35 a.m., based on initial findings.

The National Transportation Safety Board is collaborating with state police to investigate. The bus, operated by E&P Travel of Kings Mountain, North Carolina, was carrying passengers from New York to North Carolina when the crash occurred. It initially hit a Chevrolet Suburban, which subsequently collided with an Acura SUV and additional vehicles.

Tragically, four occupants of the Acura lost their lives, including Dmitri Doncev, his wife Ecterina, and their two children, Emily and Mark. They were residents of Greenfield, Massachusetts, and were reportedly traveling to a wedding in South Carolina, according to CBS Boston. The lone victim from the Suburban was identified as 25-year-old Priscilla Mafalda from Worcester, Massachusetts, as confirmed by state police.