Jing Sheng Dong, a Staten Island bus driver accused in a May 29 Interstate 95 crash in Stafford County that killed at least five people and injured dozens, has been indicted on additional involuntary manslaughter charges and reckless driving, authorities said
A multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 95 in Stafford County has already left grieving families and hospitals with dozens of injured patients. Now, the legal case has widened.
On June 1. the Stafford County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office announced a grand jury indicted Jing Sheng Dong. 48. of Staten Island. New York. on three additional charges of involuntary manslaughter and one count of reckless driving. The case stems from a crash authorities said occurred early on May 29. when investigators determined a coach bus “failed to slow” as it approached a work zone and struck multiple vehicles.
The indictment adds to charges Dong was already facing. On May 30, Virginia State Police said Dong had been initially charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.
The collision happened at about 2:35 a.m. ET on May 29 in the southbound lanes of Interstate 95 in Stafford County, according to Virginia State Police. Investigators said a preliminary investigation indicated traffic was slowing southbound for an upcoming work zone.
Virginia State Police said the bus—operated by E&P Travel Inc. and heading from New York City to Charlotte, North Carolina—“failed to slow for traffic” and struck a Chevrolet Suburban. State police said the Suburban was then forced into a second vehicle, an Acura SUV, and additional vehicles.
At the time of the crash, the coach bus was carrying about 34 passengers. State police said the bus also struck other vehicles. At least five people were killed, including a family of four, and about 44 people were transported to area hospitals, with three listed in critical condition.
Investigators have been treating the crash as a complex chain reaction. During a May 30 news conference, the National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating the crash. NTSB board member Tom Chapman said the motorcoach “struck the rear of the traffic queue. causing a chain-reaction crash involving multiple other vehicles.”.
Chapman said he was not providing new details during that briefing. but he noted the bus appeared to be moving at a “high rate of speed.” A preliminary report is expected to be released in the next 30 days. according to Chapman. He also said it appeared that if there was any braking. it “wasn’t much. ” citing the speed and the severity of the collision.
The courtroom timeline tightened quickly after initial charges. In a statement on May 30. Stafford Commonwealth’s Attorney Eric Olsen said his office authorized state police to obtain felony warrants in connection with the fatal collision. Olsen said the evidence gathered since the crash established that a tour bus traveling southbound at a high rate of speed struck one or more vehicles moving slowly through a work zone. causing a chain reaction involving at least 8 vehicles.
Olsen said probable cause presently exists to show the tour bus driver caused the crash and. at the time of the crash. was driving in a criminally negligent manner. Felony warrants for two counts of involuntary manslaughter were initially served on Dong on May 30. and Olsen said Dong was arrested by state police.
Dong remains in custody while hospitalized and will be held without bond pending his first appearance in court. On the afternoon of June 1. a Virginia state trooper served a bench warrant at the hospital. the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported. The paper said Dong, when released, will be transferred to the Rappahannock Regional Jail.
Virginia State Police said Dong suffered injuries in the crash but did not provide an update on his condition.
Investigators have also pointed to concerns about the driver’s history. State police said investigators are looking into Dong’s actions before the crash. Following the incident, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted on social media that Dong—described as a U.S. citizen from China—does not speak English and received his commercial driver’s license from the state of New York in 2024.
At the May 30 news conference, Chapman said language proficiency would be part of the NTSB investigation, adding that investigators “don’t have enough information at this point to have drawn any conclusions there.”
Online court records show prior speeding allegations involving Dong. In Colonial Heights, Virginia, he was accused of speeding in November 2024. In Annapolis. Maryland. he was accused of speeding in March. and a separate pending case in Mecklenburg County. Virginia. involves a trespassing allegation in July 2025. with court costs.
In the Virginia case, court records state Dong was found guilty of driving 73 mph in a 55 mph zone and paid $219 in fines and court costs. In the Maryland case, court records show he was accused of driving a motorcoach at 72 mph in a 50 mph zone and was ordered to pay a $160 fine.
The victims identified by Virginia State Police include four members of a family who were in the Acura SUV that caught fire after the collision. State police described them as a 45-year-old man. a 44-year-old woman. a 13-year-old girl. and a seven-year-old boy. all from Greenfield. Massachusetts. The Worcester Telegram & Gazette. citing a GoFundMe page. identified them as Dmitri Doncev and Ecaterina Doncev. and their two children. Emily Doncev and Mark Doncev.
According to the GoFundMe page, the Doncev family was traveling to a wedding in South Carolina when the incident occurred. The page also said the family immigrated to the United States in 2008 and made Greenfield their home.
Virginia State Police said the fifth victim was Priscilla Mafalda, 25, of Worcester, Massachusetts. State police said Mafalda was in the Chevrolet Suburban that was struck by the bus. The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported Mafalda was a native of Brazil who worked at a cleaning company; her owner described her as “sweet. kind and hardworking.” Her husband. who was traveling with her. suffered serious injuries. according to the GoFundMe page.
Monique Almeida, in a statement to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, described Mafalda as someone with a “heart bigger than words can describe,” saying she would “always remember her beautiful smile, her kindness and the way she made people feel comfortable and cared for.”
With additional involuntary manslaughter charges now added to the case. the crash investigation is running on two tracks at once: the National Transportation Safety Board’s inquiry into the circumstances leading up to the collision. and a criminal case that prosecutors say already rests on findings they believe establish criminally negligent driving and that caused a chain reaction involving multiple vehicles.
As the next preliminary report from the NTSB is expected within 30 days, the legal case has moved past the initial charging stage and into a larger set of allegations—one that keeps the focus on what went wrong at the moment the bus entered the work-zone traffic queue.
Virginia bus crash Interstate 95 Stafford County involuntary manslaughter charges Jing Sheng Dong reckless driving E&P Travel Inc. NTSB investigation commercial driver’s license