Five people were killed and 44 others were injured when a non-English speaking bus driver from Staten Island smashed into stopped traffic along I-95 in Virginia on Friday morning, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.<\/p>\n
Jing S. Dong, a Chinese native who obtained US citizenship, was allegedly driving the motorcoach from New York City to Charlotte, NC, when it struck a Chevrolet Suburban in Stafford County, near Quantico, just after 2:30 a.m.<\/p>\n
The crash sparked a chain reaction involving at least 6 vehicles, officials said. Traffic had slowed down for a work zone on the highway at the time of the crash.<\/p>\n
Five people died in a multi-car crash after a bus failed to stop and slammed into several vehicles in Stafford County, VA. Virginia State Police via AP<\/p>\n
The motorcoach came to rest in the medium of the highway after the crash. Virginia State Police via AP<\/p>\n
\u201cThe preliminary investigation indicates that traffic was slowing southbound for an upcoming work zone,\u201d state police. \u201cA bus failed to slow for traffic and struck six vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n
A 25-year-old unidentified woman from Worcester, Massachusetts, was killed inside the Suburban.<\/p>\n
A family of four from Greenfield, Massachusetts, all died when the Suburban slammed into their Acura, causing the family\u2019s car to catch fire, police said.<\/p>\n
Dmitri Doncev, 45, his 44-year-old wife Ecaterina, and their two children, 13-year-old Emily and 7-year-old Mark, were all pronounced dead after the crash.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith broken hearts, we share the devastating loss of our beloved brother and his family in the tragic accident on South I-95 in Virginia early this morning,\u201d Iuri Doncev, Dmitri\u2019s brother, wrote on Facebook.<\/p>\n
The driver of the bus, identified as Jing S. Dong, 48, of\u00a0Staten Island, NY, doesn\u2019t speak English, officials said. Virginia State Police via AP<\/p>\n
Dong was driving the E&P Travel bus from\u00a0New York\u00a0to North Carolina when he failed to slow down on Interstate 95. Virginia State Police via AP<\/p>\n
The destroyed rear end of an SUV after the crash on I-95 near Quantico. Virginia State Police via AP<\/p>\n
Traffic had slowed down for a work zone on the highway at the time of the crash. Virginia State Police via AP<\/p>\n
The family, who had immigrated to the US back in 2008, was travelling to South Carolina for a family wedding when they were killed, family friend Anatoliy Bublik wrote on GoFundMe.<\/p>\n
Providence Christian Academy, the private institution the children attended, confirmed the death of the family in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cProvidence Christian Academy is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of the Doncev family, following a motor vehicle accident on Interstate 95. The Doncev family was a cherished part of our school community, and their loss is being felt deeply by our students, families, faculty, and staff,\u201d the school said.<\/p>\n
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Dmitri Doncev was a registered nurse in the mental health unit at Holyoke Medical Center, the fundraiser said.<\/p>\n
Dong, 48, received his Commercial Driver\u2019s License in New York State in 2024, despite not speaking English, according to Duffy.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnacceptable. This is exactly why we are holding states\u2019 accountable, enforcing the rules of the road, and cracking down on drivers who can\u2019t speak English,\u201d Duffy wrote on X, accusing the policies implemented by NY officials of causing the crash.<\/p>\n
Dmitri Doncev, his wife Ecaterina, and their two children, Emily and Mark, were all killed in the crash. Iuri Doncev\/Facebook<\/p>\n
The family, who had immigrated to the US back in 2008, was travelling to South Carolina for a family wedding when they were killed. GoFundMe<\/p>\n
Providence Christian Academy, the private institution the children attended, confirmed the death of the family. GoFundMe<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you can\u2019t be properly trained, read our road signs, or communicate with law enforcement, you have no business driving a bus,\u201d Duffy said.<\/p>\n
The transportation boss revealed the administration is reviewing New York licensing records, training documentation, and the driver\u2019s history in the investigation into the crash.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny company, trainer, or school that contributed to putting an unqualified driver on the road will face intense scrutiny,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Forty-four people were hospitalized after the crash, including Dong and three were in critical condition.<\/p>\n
Police didn\u2019t reveal if all the passengers aboard the bus had been hospitalized.<\/p>\n
Criminal charges against Dong are pending as authorities investigate the cause of the crash.<\/p>\n
With Post wires<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Five people were killed and 44 others were injured when a non-English speaking bus driver from Staten Island…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248819,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[14674,254,1015,3409,9,11,10,58,418],"class_list":["post-248818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-bus-drivers","tag-car-crashes","tag-deaths","tag-drivers-license","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-us-news","tag-virginia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}