BOWLING GREEN -- A Caroline County judge today refused to set bond for the driver of a bus that crashed on Interstate 95, killing four passengers and injuring dozens of others.
Kin Yiu Cheung will continue to be held at the Pamunkey Regional Jail following the hearing today before Circuit Court Judge Joseph J. Ellis.
Citing discrepancies in addresses provided by Cheung, Ellis said he was "compelled, though with regret" to hold Cheung without bond.
Defense attorney Murray Janus had sought what he termed a reasonable bond of $10,000 per count of involuntary manslaughter faced by Cheung, or $40,000.
Caroline County Commonwealth's Attorney Anthony G. "Tony" Spencer provided documents today that showed Cheung had given his address as Flushing, N.Y., on at least four different occasions including on his commercial driver's license application in New York and driver's fitness certification. However, Cheung listed his address as being in Elmhurst, N.Y, on his application to Sky Express Inc. of Charlotte, N.C., owner of the bus that wrecked, Spencer said.
The prosecutor said the discrepancies raised concerns that Cheung could be a flight risk.
His next scheduled court appearance is for an arraignment July 6.
The hearing was a continuation of a proceeding that Ellis suspended last Wednesday after determining there were too many questions raised about the Cheung addresses for him to immediately make a decision on bond. The hearing was late starting because Cheung's lawyers had not notified the intepreter of the time he was to appear.
Court papers say Cheung fell asleep while driving from Greensboro, N.C., to New York. The bus ran off I-95 about 30 miles north of Richmond and flipped onto its roof.
Defense lawyers had argued that Cheung, a native of Hong Kong, could be depended on to return to court and that he was the main source of support for his wife and two young children. He has been held at the regional jail since the wreck.
(This has been a breaking news update. Check back for more details as they become available. Read more in tomorrow's Richmond Times-Dispatch.)
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