A Massachusetts family of four lost their lives when a motorcoach collided with several vehicles on a Virginia interstate, and they were en route to a family wedding carrying homemade treats for the celebration.
The wedding ceremony will proceed as planned Sunday in South Carolina, but the occasion will also serve as a time to grieve for Dmitri and Ecaterina Doncev along with their children, Emily and Mark, according to a family member who spoke Saturday.
“A son, a father — the whole family — everyone that has been dear to us,” Carolina Bublik said.
The Doncev family perished early Friday when the motorcoach struck vehicles that had reduced speed for a construction area on Interstate 95 in Stafford County, Virginia. Another victim, a 25-year-old female from Worcester, Massachusetts, was killed in an SUV, according to authorities.
Additional individuals received medical treatment for injuries, with one person listed in critical condition, although most patients were released from the hospital, Mary Washington Healthcare reported.
An official from the National Transportation Safety Board was scheduled to address media regarding the crash investigation Saturday.
E&P Travel Inc., headquartered in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, operated the motorcoach. Virginia State Police named the driver as Jing S. Dong, 48, of Staten Island, New York.
Dmitri, 45, and Ecaterina, 44, moved to the United States from Moldova in 2008 and made their home in Greenfield, Massachusetts, Bublik explained.
Dmitri worked as a nurse at Holyoke Medical Center. Ecaterina worked as a hair stylist and had dedicated days to preparing desserts for the family wedding, Bublik noted.
Dmitri and his brother Iuri attempted to coordinate their travel while driving in different vehicles to South Carolina.
“At some point they ended up getting separated,” Bublik said. “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. When his car did not show up, and he wasn’t picking up the phone — that’s when the family started panicking.”
