Bus driver faces criminal charges after 5 killed in crash

Virginia police on Saturday arrested Jing Sheng Dong, 48, and served him with felony warrants for two counts of involuntary manslaughter, Stafford County Commonwealth’s Attorney Eric Olsen told WORLD in an email. Each involuntary manslaughter charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Additional charges against Dong were pending after his bus crashed into at least eight other vehicles on Interstate 95 near Quantico, Va., early Friday, killing five people and injuring 44. Dong, who was also injured in the crash, was continuing to receive hospital care while in police custody, Olsen said.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Friday said Dong received his commercial driver’s license from New York State in 2024. Dong was a U.S. citizen originally from China who could not speak English, Duffy said. Investigators would ensure that those who allowed him on the road would face scrutiny, Duffy said. The White House in April 2025 issued an executive order declaring its intent to enforce what the White House called a long-ignored federal law requiring truckers to know enough English to read road signs.

What do we know about how the crash unfolded? According to Virginia police, at about 2:30 a.m. Friday, southbound traffic on the interstate began to slow for a work zone. Dong’s tour bus, operated by E&P Travel and heading to Charlotte, N.C., from New York City, apparently did not slow and struck a Chevrolet Suburban at a high rate of speed.

The bus and the Suburban then crashed into several other vehicles, one of which caught fire. Five people died, including four in the burning vehicle and one in the Suburban. Among the dozens injured were three people in critical condition.

The deceased victims were all from Massachusetts. Police identified one as Priscilla R. Mafalda, 25, of Worcester, Mass. The other victims’ names hadn’t been publicly released as of Monday morning. Police described them as a man and woman in their 40s, a 13-year-old girl, and a 7-year-old boy.

Dig deeper: Read my previous report on the crash.