Jing S. Dong charged in fatal Stafford County bus crash
Jing S. Dong faces involuntary manslaughter charges following a fatal multi-vehicle collision in Stafford County. Five people died in the wreck on Interstate 95 early Friday morning.
The crash happened around 2:35 a.m. in a work zone, authorities said. A motorcoach struck a Suburban. The Chevrolet SUV then hit an Acura, police said.
Five victims died in the collision. Four victims were from one family:
- Dmitri Doncev, 45
- Ecaterina Doncev, 44
- Emily Doncev
- Mark Doncev
- Priscilla Mafalda, 25
Mafalda lived in Worcester, Massachusetts, and was riding in the Suburban. The Doncev family lived in Greenfield, Massachusetts, and was traveling in the Acura. They were driving to a wedding in South Carolina with homemade desserts.
The wedding will continue Sunday, relative Carolina Bublik said Saturday.
A son, a father , the whole family , everyone that has been dear to us.
Dmitri worked as a nurse at Holyoke Medical Center. Ecaterina worked as a hairstylist. The couple emigrated from Moldova to the United States in 2008.
Dmitri drove separately from his brother, Iuri. The two cars became separated on the trip south.
Bublik said the family panicked when the car failed to arrive. Dmitri also stopped answering his telephone.
More people received treatment for injuries, Mary Washington Healthcare said. Most were discharged. One person remained in critical condition.
Dong, 48, lives in Staten Island, New York. Virginia State Police charged him with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. State police said more charges were likely.
Dong was arrested, the prosecutor’s office in Stafford County said. He remains in custody at a hospital during medical treatment. A magistrate approved holding Dong without bond.
Prosecutors saw probable cause that Dong drove in a criminally negligent manner. His first court appearance waits for his hospital discharge.
Online court records did not show the case on Saturday. A weekend call to the area public defender went unanswered. It was unclear if Dong had an attorney.
E&P Travel Inc. operated the motorcoach. The business is based in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. The bus carried passengers from New York to North Carolina.
The National Transportation Safety Board opened a separate investigation into the collision. NTSB board member Tom Chapman said the bus traveled at high speed.
It seems fairly clear that if there was any braking there wasn’t much, because of the speed and severity of the collision.
Chapman said investigators will examine the driver’s language proficiency. Dong is a native of China and does not speak English, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on social media.
The National Transportation Safety Board investigates major highway accidents across the country. Federal safety investigators examine vehicle operations, carrier safety records and roadway conditions. Their final crash reports often take months to complete.
Stafford County prosecutors will schedule Dong for court after his medical release.
