1 charge dropped for driver in bus deaths

BOWLING GREEN, Va. -- Prosecutors on Friday dropped a reckless driving charge against a driver for a discount bus service whose bus crashed on Interstate 95 in Virginia, killing four people and injuring others.

Caroline County Commonwealth's Attorney Tony Spencer told The Associated Press ahead of a scheduled court hearing that his office will not prosecute the misdemeanor charge against Kin Yiu Cheung, 37, of New York City. Cheung, who did not appear in court Friday, is scheduled for trial in January on four felony counts of involuntary manslaughter. He faces up to 10 years in prison for each count if convicted.

Spencer would not comment further.

Court records show Cheung admitted to police that he fell asleep at the wheel when the low-fare Sky Express bus from Greensboro, N.C., to New York City swerved off Interstate 95 about 30 miles north of Richmond, hit an embankment and overturned with 60 people aboard May 31.

His attorneys have called the crash a "terrible accident and a tragedy." Virginia State Police said those killed in the crash were Karen Blyden-Decastro, 46, of Cambria Heights, Queens; Josefa Torres, 78, of Jamaica, Queens; Sie Giok Giang, 63, of Philadelphia and Denny Estefany Martinez, 25, of Jersey City.

Transportation Department officials were in the process of shutting down the company at the time of the crash but had given it an extra 10 days to appeal an unsatisfactory safety rating.

The department indicated that without the extension, Sky Express would have ceased operations the weekend before the crash. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has directed the department to stop extending appeals for operators found to be unsafe.