Bus crashes into six vehicles near Virginia work zone, killing five

The accident happened around 2:35 a.m. on southbound I-95 in Stafford County. QuanticoVirginia. The five dead were all in the vehicle that was hit by the bus, and 44 people were taken to hospital, three of whom were seriously injured, police said.

“Preliminary investigation indicates that southbound traffic was slowing in the upcoming work zone,” state police said in a news release. “A bus failed to slow down and struck six vehicles.”

Police said there were “approximately” 34 passengers on the bus.

“We have patients at multiple hospitals. We found the driver at a hospital here,” said Payton Vogel, a spokesman for the Federal Transit Administration who was at the scene. “I have to say, it’s one of the most tragic things I’ve ever seen. Absolutely tragic.”

One of the cars caught fire, killing four people. State police said the victims include a 45-year-old man, a 44-year-old woman, a 13-year-old woman and a 7-year-old man, all from Greenfield, Massachusetts. The fifth victim is a 25-year-old woman from Worcester. Massachusettswas riding in an SUV that was hit by a bus.

State police identified the bus driver as Jing S. Dong, 48, of Staten Island, N.Y. Charges are pending, authorities said.

Mary Washington Healthcare said a total of 19 patients were admitted to the incident. Seven of the patients were taken to a trauma center in Fredericksburg, four of whom have been discharged and three who remain in treatment, including one in serious condition and two in critical condition, the company said in a post online. Twelve people were taken to hospital in Stafford and later discharged in good condition.

The National Transportation Safety Board posted online on Friday that it would send an “investigative team” to conduct a safety investigation into the accident and would send a spokesman to the scene.

The southbound lanes reopened at noon Friday, but traffic was still backed up for several miles, according to a state traffic advisory.

The company was established by Liu Shuo on November 24, 2023, according to records from the North Carolina Secretary of State’s Office. Liu is also listed as the registered agent. The FMCSA website says the company operates four vehicles and has 11 drivers.

While it’s too early to say what caused Friday’s crash, federal authorities have been grappling with interstate passenger bus safety issues for decades.

After a series of passenger bus crashes in 2008 that killed 41 people, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued a passenger bus safety action plan.

The NTSB investigated 16 fatal bus crashes between June 1998 and January 2008 and found Driver-related issues such as fatiguemedical conditions and inattention accounted for 56% of accidents. The agency said 60 percent of fatalities in these crashes were caused by driver-related issues.

Recommended actions include the development of a pre-employment driver history screening program and a national drug and alcohol testing database “to enable coach operators to determine whether drivers have a history of violating Department of Transportation alcohol or drug rules”.

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Associated Press writers included Holly Ramer in Concord, NH Breed in Wake Forest, North Carolina, and Verduzco in Kings Mountain, North Carolina