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Five people were killed and 44 others were injured when a bus driver from Staten Island smashed into stopped traffic along I-95 in Virginia on Friday morning, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
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 2:30am.
The crash sparked a chain reaction involving at least six vehicles, officials said. Traffic had slowed down for a work zone on the highway at the time of the crash.
“The preliminary investigation indicates that traffic was slowing southbound for an upcoming work zone,” state police. “A bus failed to slow for traffic and struck six vehicles.”
A 25-year-old unidentified woman from Worcester, Massachusetts, was killed inside the Suburban.
A family of four from Greenfield, Massachusetts, all died when the Suburban slammed into their Acura, causing the family’s car to catch fire, police said.
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.
“With 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,” Iuri Doncev, Dmitri’s brother, wrote on Facebook.
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.
Providence Christian Academy, the private institution the children attended, confirmed the death of the family in a statement.
“Providence 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,” the school said.
Dmitri Doncev was a registered nurse in the mental health unit at Holyoke Medical Center, the fundraiser said.
Dong, 48, received his Commercial Driver’s License in New York State in 2024, despite not speaking English, according to Duffy.
“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, accusing the policies implemented by NY officials of causing the crash.
“If you can’t be properly trained, read our road signs, or communicate with law enforcement, you have no business driving a bus,” Duffy said.
The transportation boss revealed the administration is reviewing New York licensing records, training documentation, and the driver’s history in the investigation into the crash.
“Any company, trainer, or school that contributed to putting an unqualified driver on the road will face intense scrutiny,” he said.
Forty-four people were hospitalised after the crash, including Dong and three were in critical condition.
Police didn’t reveal if all the passengers aboard the bus had been hospitalised.
Criminal charges against Dong are pending as authorities investigate the cause of the crash.
This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission.
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