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Driver In Fatal Sky Express Bus Crash Pleads Not Guilty

BOWLING GREEN, Va. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Kin Yiu Cheung, a driver of a discount bus that crashed in Virginia killing four people, has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

Cheung, 37 of Elmhurst, entered the plea Wednesday after a Caroline County grand jury certified four felony counts against him. A trial was set for Sept. 12.

He was denied bond by a Caroline County court last month.

Cheung was driving a Sky Express operated bus that was heading to China Town from North Carolina when it crashed, killing four people and injuring dozens more.

He's charged with four felony counts of involuntary manslaughter and reckless driving

Investigators said Cheung admitted he was asleep at the wheel when the bus swerved off the highway, hit an embankment and overturned with 60 people on board.

Killed were 46-year-old Karen Blyden-Decastro of Cambria Heights, NY, 63-year-old Sie Giok Giang of Philadelphia, 78-year-old Josefa Torres of Jamaica, NY and 25-year-old Denny Estefany Martinez of Jersey City, NJ.

Cheung's attorneys are asking a judge to suppress any statements he made because he allegedly was denied access to counsel and was not advised of his Miranda rights.

Cheung faces up to 10 years in prison for each felony count if convicted.

(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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