CAROLINE COUNTY, Va. — Two deadly crashes on I-95 in two days are drawing attention to safety concerns along one of Virginia’s busiest corridors.

Stafford Commonwealth’s Attorney Eric Olsen authorized felony warrants charging Jing Sheng Dong, 48, of Staten Island, New York, with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with Friday’s deadly bus crash in Stafford County. Additional charges are pending.

Investigators say the bus was traveling at a high rate of speed when it slammed into traffic slowing for a work zone on I-95 south, triggering a chain reaction involving at least eight vehicles.

“According to local first responders, five occupants of passenger vehicles in the traffic queue were tragically killed. Numerous other occupants, including the bus driver, were injured and some seriously,” National Transportation Safety Board member Tom Chapman said.

 Family killed in I-95 bus crash was headed to wedding in South Carolina, relatives say

Family killed in I-95 bus crash was headed to wedding in South Carolina, relatives say

Among those killed was a Massachusetts family of four who were traveling to a wedding in South Carolina. A fifth victim, also from Massachusetts, was killed.

A total of 44 people were taken to hospitals, including three with critical injuries.

A woman who was on the bus described the scene in the aftermath of the crash.

“You have blood, people bleeding, people screaming, the bus smoking. A stranger came bust the window open and let us all out; I’m thankful for that,” passenger Judy said.

Dong remains hospitalized but is in custody after being served with the felony warrants. Prosecutors say more charges are possible. He will be held without bond, and his first court appearance will be scheduled once he is released from the hospital.

Then on Saturday, another deadly crash closed portions of I-95 in Caroline County.

Christina Baker and her husband Joshua say they witnessed the crash unfold. They told us an SUV was speeding down the left shoulder of I-95 South before striking debris and losing control.

“It went down, and then it went up, and then just flew across the entire median across onto oncoming traffic going the opposite direction,” Christina Baker said. “I started screaming, saying, ‘Oh my gosh, oh my gosh.’”

Officials say one person died and two others were hospitalized. At this time, they have not released any more information about those involved.

The crash left the Bakers wanting to remind drivers to stay alert and think of others when behind the wheel.

“People should just stay in the lanes, drive the speed limit right, and be responsible. Because I felt for a moment, I was obviously concerned for our safety as well,” Joshua Baker said.

While the cause of both crashes remains under investigation, Chapman says the NTSB is noticing many common factors when it comes to crashes on I-95, including traffic backups.

“We also want to look very closely here to issues potentially involving fatigue, driver performance, those sorts of things. And vehicle performance issues. That might include factors such as automatic braking, whether the vehicle was or was not equipped with what’s called AEB. Those are the sorts of things we want to look at here and we might be able to learn some lessons,” Chapman said.

This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.

Four members of a Greenfield family and a Worcester woman have been identified as the five Massachusetts residents killed in a fiery charter bus crash on a Virginia highway this week.

Virginia State Police identified the victims as Dmitri Doncev, 45; Ecaterina Doncev, 44; Emily Doncev, 13; and Mark Doncev, 7, all of Greenfield, along with 25-year-old Priscilla R. Mafalda of Worcester.

The crash happened on Thursday on Interstate 81 near Lexington, Virginia, when a charter bus traveling from New York City to Charlotte, North Carolina, struck several vehicles as traffic slowed for roadwork. In addition to the five people killed, 34 others were injured and taken to local hospitals, according to authorities.

Investigators said the bus failed to slow down and slammed into a Chevrolet Suburban driven by Mafalda. The impact pushed the SUV into the Doncev family’s Acura, which caught fire.

Dmitri, a nurse at Holyoke Medical Center, was driving his family through the night to attend a wedding in South Carolina when the crash occurred, according to the Boston Globe.

Dmitri’s 27-year-old niece, Carolina Bublik, shared the family’s grief with the Globe, saying the Doncevs would join extended family at church every Sunday. 

“Now it’s going to be very difficult, the next Sunday that comes around, where we will not be able to have them sit next to us at the lunch table,” said Bublik.

The Doncevs were members of the Providence Christian Academy community, where Emily and Mark attended school. 

“The Doncev family was a cherished part of our school community, and their loss is being felt deeply by our students, families, faculty, and staff,” the school said in a statement.

A family friend started a GoFundMe to raise money for the family’s funeral expenses.

Few details were immediately available about Mafalda.

Police have charged the bus driver, Jing S. Dong, 48, with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, and authorities said additional charges are pending.

A Staten Island, New York, resident, Dong obtained his commercial driver’s license in 2024, according to Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy.

Morgan Rousseau is a freelance writer for Boston.com, where she reports on a variety of local and regional news.

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