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Five people, including two children, were killed when a bus crashed into multiple vehicles in a work zone on Interstate 95 in in Virginia early Friday, authorities said.
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The crash occurred around 2:35 a.m. when the bus failed to slow and struck as many as six vehicles near the 146-mile marker in Stafford County, Virginia State Police said in a statement Friday.
Among the dead were four people in an Acura hit by a Chevrolet Suburban in a chain reaction, the agency said. A 7-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl, a 44-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man, all from Greenfield, Massachusetts, were killed, State Police said.
A 25-year-old woman from Worcester, Massachusetts, in the Suburban directly struck by the bus was also killed, the agency said. The bus also hit other vehicles, it said.
The victims’ names have not been publicly released.
An additional 44 people were hospitalized with injuries, three of them in critical condition, State Police said. The agency said about 34 people were on the bus, though they did not break down the injury status of those on board.
State Police said the preliminary investigation showed that traffic was slowing southbound on Interstate 95 for a work zone when the bus failed to slow down, triggering the fatal crash.
The bus was headed from New York City to Charlotte, N.C., State Police said. A focus of the crash investigation is the driver’s actions before the crash, the agency said. It said charges were pending.
The driver was identified as Jing S. Dong, 48, of New York City. NBC News was unable to find contact information for someone of that name in New York City.
The bus operator is E&P Travel, State Police said. It is listed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration as a company in Kings Mountain, North Carolina with four buses and 11 drivers.
Administration data lists four violations for the company, three related to allegations of driving a motor coach or bus 15 or more mph above the speed limit and one for a motor coach driver who, it’s alleged, could not satisfy English proficiency requirements.
Additionally, the administration lists an E&P bus’ involvement in a 2024 crash in which nine were injured; fault is not indicated. E&P had no acute or critical violations on record that would demand an expedited inspection or intervention, the administration’s data show.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it is sending a team to assist with the Virginia State Police investigation into the cause of the crash.
On Friday afternoon, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy characterized the driver as an immigrant with limited English. He said on X that the operator will face scrutiny.
“My prayers are with the loved ones of the innocent lives lost and those who were hurt in this horrific crime,” he said.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger on X said her “heart is with the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives, and I am praying for a quick recovery for those injured.”
The north end of Stafford County, where the crash took place, is about 40 miles south-southwest of Washington, D.C.
Daniella Silva is a national reporter for NBC News, focusing on immigration and education.
Dennis Romero is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
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