NTSB: Bus driver failed to slow down, causing fatal crash

STAFFORD, Vir. (WWLP) - The National Transportation Safety Board says that the driver of a charter bus failed to slow down for work zone traffic, causing a crash that killed five people from Massachusetts, including a Greenfield family. On Thursday, the NTSB released preliminary information on its investigation into the crash on Interstate 95 southbound near Stafford, Virginia during the early morning hours of May 29. Investigators say bus driver Jing Sheng Dong failed to slow down for a line of traffic forming at a work zone for an overnight pavement resurfacing project. The bus rear-ended a Chevrolet Suburban and an Acura MDX that were in the end of the traffic line. Ultimately, the bus driver caused eight other vehicles in the line to crash before the bus finally came to a stop nearly a half mile from the initial crash. Dimitri, Ecaterina, Emily, and Mark Doncev of Greenfield, who were inside the Acura, were killed in the crash, as was Priscilla Ramos Mafala of Worcester, who was in the Chevrolet. Other vehicle occupants suffered a range of injuries from minor to serious. Dong, 58, of Staten Island, N.Y., has been indicted by a Virginia grand jury on five counts of involuntary manslaughter, as well as reckless driving. The NTSB continues to investigate the crash alongside the Virginia State Police, Virginia Department of Transportation, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.