A family from Massachusetts was tragically killed in a bus crash while traveling to a wedding in South Carolina. The Doncev family—Dmitri, Ecaterina, and their two children, Emily and Mark—were bringing homemade desserts to celebrate the special occasion when their lives were cut short.
The wedding will still take place this Sunday, but it will be a deeply sorrowful event as family and friends gather to remember the Doncevs. “A son, a father — the whole family — everyone that has been dear to us,” expressed Carolina Bublik, a relative.
The tragic accident occurred early Friday morning at around 2:35 a.m. on Interstate 95 in Stafford County, Virginia. The bus collided with several vehicles that had slowed down for road work. In addition to the Doncev family, a 25-year-old woman from Worcester, Massachusetts, also lost her life in the crash.
Emergency responders treated other individuals for injuries; most were later discharged from the hospital, but one person remained in critical condition, according to Mary Washington Healthcare.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is currently investigating the details of the crash, a process that can take several months. NTSB board member Tom Chapman revealed that the bus was traveling at a high speed when the collision occurred. “It seems fairly clear that if there was any braking there wasn’t much, because of the speed and severity of the collision,” Chapman stated.
The bus was operated by E&P Travel Inc., based in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, and was transporting passengers from New York to North Carolina. The driver, Jing S. Dong, 48, hails from Staten Island, New York. It has been noted that language barriers may be a part of the ongoing investigation, as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy mentioned on social media that Dong, a native of China, does not speak English.
Dmitri Doncev, 45, worked as a nurse at Holyoke Medical Center, while Ecaterina, 44, was a hairstylist who had spent days preparing desserts for the wedding celebration. The family emigrated from Moldova to the U.S. in 2008, settling in Greenfield, Massachusetts.
Dmitri and his brother Iuri were traveling in separate vehicles to South Carolina but had planned to stay close together. Unfortunately, they became separated during their journey. “At some point they ended up getting separated,” Bublik explained. “Dmitri said, ‘You go ahead. I’ll catch up later.’ It was a big shock when Iuri arrived at the house. Dmitri should have arrived around the same time.”
