Five people are dead after a bus slammed into multiple vehicles on Interstate 95 in Virginia just after 2:30 in the morning on Friday.
The crash happened in Stafford County, about 45 miles south of Washington, D.C. As traffic slowed for a work zone, the bus did not slow down and struck a Chevrolet Suburban, according to Virginia State Police. The Suburban was then forced into an Acura SUV and other cars. The Acura caught fire.
Four of the five people killed were inside the Acura: a 45-year-old man, a 44-year-old woman, a 13-year-old girl, and a 7-year-old boy. All four were from Greenfield, Massachusetts. The fifth person killed, a 25-year-old woman, was in the Suburban.
Forty-four people were taken to hospitals. Three are in critical condition.
The bus was en route from New York City to Charlotte, North Carolina, and was carrying about 34 passengers. The driver, identified as Jing S. Dong, 48, suffered injuries. Charges are pending, according to state police.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said federal investigators are reviewing Dong's commercial driver's license and training records. According to ABC News, Duffy posted on social media that the driver does not speak English and received his commercial driver's license from New York State in 2024.
"Local police confirm the driver of this motorcoach -- a man from China who became a U.S. citizen -- doesn't speak English. He received his commercial drivers license from New York State in 2024. Unacceptable," Duffy said. "If you can't be properly trained, read our road signs, or communicate with law enforcement, you have no business driving a bus."
The crash initially closed all lanes of I-95. All lanes have since reopened.
