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A charter bus driver has been charged after he allegedly caused a fatal crash in Virginia that left five people dead.
Jing S. Dong, a Staten Island, New York-based driver and non-English-speaking naturalized citizen from China who obtained his commercial license in 2024, has been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and has additional charges pending, the Virginia State Police said on Saturday.
Dong allegedly slammed into an SUV in front of his E&P Travel bus in the southbound lane of Interstate 95, causing that driver to crash into another vehicle around 2:35 a.m. Friday in Stafford County.
A teenage girl and young boy, who were in the car ahead of the one the bus hit, died along with their parents after their vehicle caught fire.
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A woman who was in the SUV immediately in front of the bus, was also killed.
The family has been identified as Dmitri Doncev, 45, his wife Ecterina, 44, their 13-year-old daughter, Emily and 7-year-old son, Mark, all of Greenfield, Massachusetts.
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The woman was identified as Priscilla R. Mafalda, 25, of Worcester, Massachusetts.
“The preliminary investigation indicates that traffic was slowing southbound for an upcoming work zone. A bus, operated by E&P Travel and heading from New York City to Charlotte, N.C., failed to slow for traffic and struck a Chevrolet Suburban,” police said in a news release. “The Suburban was then forced into an Acura SUV as well as additional vehicles. The bus struck additional vehicles as well.”
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Friday revealed that Dong is a naturalized U.S. citizen from China and does not speak English, which is against federal regulations for bus drivers who must be able to speak and understand well enough to do their job safely.
“Unacceptable. This is exactly why we are holding states’ accountable, enforcing the rules of the road, and cracking down on drivers who can’t speak English,” Duffy wrote on X. “If you can’t be properly trained, read our road signs, or communicate with law enforcement, you have no business driving a bus.”
Duffy added that the Transportation Department is investigating, “New York licensing records, training documentation, and the driver’s history. Any company, trainer, or school that contributed to putting an unqualified driver on the road will face intense scrutiny.”
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