Virginia Bus Crash Kills 5, Injures Dozens After Driver Fails to Slow for Traffic on I-95
A devastating early-morning crash on Interstate 95 in Virginia left five people dead and nearly four dozen injured after a charter bus slammed into multiple vehicles near a highway work zone, authorities said Friday.
The bus, operated by E&P Travel, was traveling from New York City to Charlotte, North Carolina, when it failed to slow for stopped traffic around 2:35 a.m. in Stafford County, according to the Virginia State Police. The impact set off a chain-reaction collision involving six vehicles.
Four occupants of an Acura SUV — a 45-year-old man, a 44-year-old woman, a 13-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy, all from Greenfield, Massachusetts — were killed after the vehicle caught fire. A fifth victim, a 25-year-old woman from Worcester, Massachusetts, died in the Chevrolet Suburban that was struck first.
Police identified the bus driver as 48-year-old Jing S. Dong of Staten Island, New York, who was also injured in the crash. State police said charges are pending, and investigators are reviewing the driver’s actions before the collision. No further details were released.
In addition to the five fatalities, 44 people were taken to hospitals across the region. Seven adults were transported to Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, including one in critical condition and two in serious condition; one was treated and released. Another 12 patients were treated and released at Stafford Hospital. Several others underwent surgery for life-threatening injuries, hospital officials said.
The crash is among the deadliest on Virginia highways in recent years, and it has drawn renewed attention to the dangers of distracted or fatigued driving, particularly for long-haul buses. The National Transportation Safety Board said it was deploying a “go-team” to conduct a full safety investigation, a standard step in major commercial vehicle crashes.
“I’ve got to say, this is one of the most tragic things I’ve ever seen,” Peyton Vogel, a Federal Transit Administration spokesperson who was on the scene, told the Associated Press. “Absolutely tragic.”
According to Virginia State Police, traffic was already slowing as vehicles approached a construction zone in the southbound lanes when the bus failed to reduce speed. The initial collision involved the bus striking the Suburban, which then crashed into the Acura and other cars. Two additional minor crashes later occurred near the same location, officials confirmed.
The crash highlights ongoing concerns over highway work zone safety and the need for stricter enforcement of speed and fatigue regulations for commercial drivers. The NTSB investigation is expected to examine the bus’s mechanical condition, driver logs, and whether the company had prior safety violations.