Deadly Virginia bus crash exposes network of hidden operators

A deadly highway crash in Virginia has exposed a bus company tied to a broader network of travel firms, including one that regulators shut down a decade ago after excessive speeding violations. Federal authorities are now examining whether E&P Travel Inc. was linked to more than a dozen current and former bus companies in the Northeast, a pattern that safety experts say can let troubled operators keep moving under new names.

The crash happened at about 2:35 a.m. on May 29 on southbound Interstate 95 in Stafford County, near mile marker 146, as traffic slowed for a work zone where the right and center lanes were closed. Investigators said the E&P Travel motor coach, traveling from New York to North Carolina, appeared to be moving at a high rate of speed and showed little if any braking before it slammed into the back of a queue of vehicles. The impact triggered a chain-reaction crash involving multiple vehicles.

Five people were killed and nearly four dozen were injured. The dead included Dmitri Doncev, Ecterina Doncev, and their children Emily and Mark, a Massachusetts family traveling to a wedding in South Carolina with desserts for the celebration. Priscilla Mafalda, 25, of Worcester, Massachusetts, also died. Mary Washington Healthcare said most of the people treated after the crash were later discharged.

The driver, Jing Sheng Dong of Staten Island, New York, now faces five involuntary manslaughter counts and one misdemeanor reckless-driving charge after additional charges were filed on June 2. Court records and news reports show he had already been cited for speeding, including a 2024 Virginia conviction for driving 73 mph in a 55 mph zone and a March 2026 Maryland ticket accusing him of driving a motorcoach 72 mph in a 50 mph zone. Federal rules say drivers convicted twice within three years for going more than 15 mph over the limit can be disqualified for 60 days. A federal official said Dong refused an English proficiency test.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating with state police, while federal investigators are reviewing the 72 hours before the crash for signs of fatigue, sleep issues, distraction, or possible drug and alcohol use. The case has revived longstanding concerns about chameleon carriers, a label used in trucking and passenger bus industries for operators that shed bad records by creating new companies at the same locations, with the same people, and sometimes the same buses. Regulators and safety advocates say those gaps can hide unsafe maintenance histories and unqualified drivers until a major wreck forces the network into view.