Bus Driver Failed To Slow Before Slamming Into Cars And Killing 5 From MA: NTSB

The driver of a bus that slammed into cars backed up by traffic, killing a Greenfield family of four and woman from Worcester, failed to slow down, according to the National Traffic Safety Board.

"The motorcoach did not slow as it approached the traffic queue and collided with the rear of a 2021 Chevrolet Suburban and a 2020 Acura MDX in the center lane at the end of the queue, about 1,000 feet north of the beginning of the right shoulder closure," the NTSB report said.

The bus, carrying 24 passengers, was traveling from New York to Charlotte, North Carolina, when it crashed on Interstate 95 near Quantico, Virginia.

Among those killed were a 45-year-old man, a 44-year-old woman, a 13-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy, all from Greenfield. All were in the Acura, which police said caught fire after the collisions.

Police did not release their names, but a statement from the school the children attended in Greenfield said they were Dmitri and Ecaterina Doncev and their children, Emily and Mark.

Also killed was Priscilla R. Mafalda, 25, of Worcester, who was riding in the Suburban struck by the bus.

The bus driver, 48-year-old Jing S. Dong of Staten Island, New York, was charged with involuntary manslaughter.

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