Bus driver in deadly Virginia pileup faces additional manslaughter charges after prior speeding violations

Jing Sheng Dong, the driver of a motorcoach that plowed into slowed traffic in a Virginia work zone last week, killing five people, was indicted Monday on three additional counts of involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors said. The 48-year-old Staten Island resident now faces a total of five manslaughter charges plus one count of reckless driving in connection with the early-morning crash Friday on Interstate 95.

The chain-reaction collision occurred when Dong, driving a bus operated by E&P Travel Inc., failed to stop in time and struck a line of vehicles that had slowed down in a construction zone. Among the dead were a family of four from Greenfield, Massachusetts, traveling to a wedding, and a 25-year-old woman from Worcester, Massachusetts. Dozens more were injured.

Dong’s driving record has come under scrutiny following the crash. Court records show he was cited for speeding in Colonial Heights, Virginia, in November 2024, where he was convicted of driving 73 mph in a 55 mph zone and paid $219 in fines and costs. In March, he was accused of driving a motorcoach 72 mph in a 50 mph zone in Annapolis, Maryland, a case still pending. He also faces a trespassing charge in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, from July.

Dong remained hospitalized as of Monday but will be transferred to jail upon release, according to Stafford County Commonwealth’s Attorney Eric Olsen. The National Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation into the crash, which has reignited concerns about work zone safety and commercial driver oversight on the busy East Coast corridor. The bus company, based in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, has not commented.

No attorney had been listed for Dong in the crash-related court documents, and emails to lawyers representing him in the Maryland and trespassing cases were not returned Monday.