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Virginia judge grants bond again to bus driver charged in fatal I-95 crash

A Virginia judge granted bond again Tuesday to the bus driver charged in a multivehicle crash that killed five people on Interstate 95 in May. Stafford County Circuit Court Judge Charles Clark overturned a lower court’s bond decision and set bond for Jing Sheng Dong at $25,000. Dong faces five involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the May 29 crash on Interstate 95 in Stafford County, near mile marker 146. As conditions of his release, Clark ordered Dong to surrender his Chinese and U.S. passports, commercial driver’s license and driver’s license. He also must secure housing in Virginia, remain on house arrest under pretrial supervision, refrain from driving, avoid contact with victims and not consume alcohol. Dong remains in custody at Rappahannock Regional Jail while arrangements are made to meet those conditions. “He’s a bus driver, so it’s not like he has a lot of money. The man was trying to earn a living for his family with a 17-year-old son, so we have to find a place. Hopefully, some place up toward me, so I can communicate with him and see him, because he can’t drive or leave the Commonwealth,” attorney Thomas Walsh told WTOP.

Walsh said he is working with his client to secure his release. Dong’s trial is scheduled for Oct. 6, though Walsh previously said the date could change following the bond ruling. WTOP’s Neal Augenstein reported from Stafford.

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