Bus driver in deadly Stafford crash charged with 2 counts of involuntary manslaughter

STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) -- The driver of the charter bus that struck at least seven vehicles in Stafford County on Friday has been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter with additional charges pending, according to Virginia State Police. The crash killed five people and left 44 hurt. According to an update from Mary Washington Healthcare, as of 3 p.m. Saturday, 15 of the 19 patients receiving care across both of the system's hospitals have been released. Four victims remain hospitalized Of the four patients remaining, officials said one remains in critical condition, two are in "serious condition," and one is in "fair condition." 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, Jim Dong, 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: 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. The driver of the bus, identified as Jing S. Dong, 48, of Staten Island, New York, was hurt in the crash. 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.