Chinese-Native Bus Driver Who Can’t Speak English Causes Pileup That Kills Young Family

A non-English speaking bus driver killed five people and injured 44 after crashing into stopped traffic along I-95 in Virginia early Friday morning.

The driver, Jing S. Dong, is a Chinese native with U.S. citizenship who received a commercial driver’s license from New York in 2024, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

“Unacceptable. This is exactly why we are holding states accountable, enforcing the rules of the road, and cracking down on drivers who can’t speak English,” Duffy wrote on X. “If you can’t be properly trained, read our road signs, or communicate with law enforcement, you have no business driving a bus.”

Update on the tragic bus crash in Virginia:

Five people are dead, including a 13-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy, after the driver of a motorcoach slammed into stopped traffic on I-95. @FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs and our investigators are on the ground at the crash… pic.twitter.com/NWPBd9aLPr

— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) May 29, 2026

Dong was allegedly driving the motor coach from New York City to Charlotte, North Carolina, when he failed to stop for slowing traffic and rammed into a Chevrolet Suburban, causing a chain reaction of at least six vehicles, the New York Post reported.

The driver of the Suburban, a 25-year-old woman from Massachusetts, was killed. After the bus slammed into it, the Suburban hit an Acura occupied by a family of four, killing 45-year-old Dmitri Doncev, his 44-year-old wife Ecaterina, their 13-year-old daughter, and 7-year-old son. The young family’s vehicle caught on fire after the collision, the Post reported.

“With broken hearts, we share the devastating loss of our beloved brother and his family in the tragic accident on South I-95 in Virginia early this morning,” Iuri Doncev, Dmitri Doncev’s brother, said on Facebook.

The Department of Transportation is investigating how Dong received his license from New York.

“Our investigators are reviewing New York licensing records, training documentation, and the driver’s history,” Duffy said. “Any company, trainer, or school that contributed to putting an unqualified driver on the road will face intense scrutiny.”

Earlier this year, an illegal immigrant with a CDL from California allegedly caused a multi-car pileup that killed two people and injured five others, The Daily Wire previously reported.