STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) — On Saturday, authorities apprehended the driver of a charter bus involved in a tragic incident in Stafford County that left five dead and 44 injured after colliding with at least eight vehicles.
Eric Olsen, Stafford Commonwealth’s Attorney, announced that a felony warrant has been issued for 48-year-old Jing Sheng Dong from Staten Island, NY. Although Dong remains hospitalized, he is officially under arrest.
“Despite the ongoing intricate investigation by the Virginia State Police, there is currently sufficient evidence to suggest that the tour bus driver was responsible for the collision, operating the vehicle with criminal negligence at the time of the incident,” Olsen stated.
Dong faces two charges of involuntary manslaughter, with the possibility of additional charges forthcoming. Each manslaughter charge could result in a maximum prison sentence of ten years.
Olsen noted that Virginia State Police detained Dong at the hospital. Once he is discharged, he will be transferred and held without bail, pending his initial court hearing.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) provided an update on the crash investigation Saturday afternoon, noting that many details remain under review.
NTSB Board Member Thomas Chapman noted that there is no credible evidence to date indicating that the bus driver does not speak English, despite USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy’s claims.
Chapman also commented on the braking time of the bus, stating, “Both in terms of physical evidence at the site, also potentially… electronic evidence from onboard equipment that might be able to tell us what the vehicle is doing at the time. We don’t know that yet. It seems fairly clear that if there was any braking, there wasn’t much because of the speed and severity of the collision.”
The full press conference can be viewed below:
According to an update from Mary Washington Healthcare, as of 8:30 a.m. Sunday, 16 of the 19 patients receiving care across both of the system’s hospitals have been released. Three victims remain hospitalized.
Of the three patients remaining, officials said one remains in critical condition and two are in “serious condition.”
The investigation
Virginia State Police (VSP) said the incident happened near Mile Marker 146, just two miles away from Exit 148 (Quantico) during the overnight hours of May 29.
Troopers said that around 2:35 a.m., southbound traffic slowed as it approached a work zone. The bus, owned and operated by E&P Travel with 34 people on board, did not slow down and struck a Chevrolet Suburban, forcing the Suburban into an Acura SUV and four other vehicles.
State police said four of the people who died were in the Acura, which caught fire after the crash. AP identified four of the victims as residents of Greenfield, Mass.: Dmitri Doncev, 45, Ecaterina Doncev, 44, and their children, Emily Doncev, 13, and Mark Doncev, 7. A relative of the victims said the family was heading to a wedding in South Carolina at the time of the crash.
The fifth person who died was Priscilla R. Mafalda, 25, of Worcester, Mass., who was in the Suburban.
The charter bus was traveling from New York to Charlotte, N.C., police said. Medics transported all passengers on board to area hospitals.
In total, officials said 44 people were hospitalized, three of whom had critical injuries.
In a post shared to X Friday afternoon, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy shared his concerns with the incident, claiming that Dong— an American citizen originally from China who received his commercial driver’s license in New York in 2024— “doesn’t speak English.”
“If you can’t be properly trained, read our road signs, or communicate with law enforcement, you have no business driving a bus,” said Duffy. “Our investigators are reviewing 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.”
The NTSB is assisting with the investigation.