Sean Duffy Calls Virginia Bus Crash "Unacceptable" After Five Die — Questions How Non-English-Speaking Driver Was Licensed

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recently slammed a bus driver identified as Jing S. Dong, a Chinese native of Staten Island, N.Y., after he slammed a bus carrying passengers into multiple cars.

According to a Virginia State Police news release obtained by People, the incident occurred just after 2:30 a.m. local time on Friday, May 29, when the bus allegedly "failed to slow" and struck a Chevrolet Suburban in Stafford County, near Quantico, triggering a chain-reaction crash involving several other vehicles.

"The preliminary investigation indicates that traffic was slowing southbound for an upcoming work zone," authorities said, "A bus failed to slow for traffic and struck six vehicles."

Five people, including a family of four and a 25-year-old woman from Worcester, Massachusetts, died in the crash, while 44 others were reported injured.

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"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," he wrote, adding that "If you can’t be properly trained, read our road signs, or communicate with law enforcement, you have no business driving a bus."

Duffy, 54, confirmed that investigators are reviewing New York licensing records, training documentation and the driver's history, emphasizing that "Any company, trainer, or school that contributed to putting an unqualified driver on the road will face intense scrutiny."

"My prayers are with the loved ones of the innocent lives lost and those who were hurt in this horrific crime," he added.

The family of four from Greenfield, Massachusetts — 45-year-old Dmitri Doncev, his 44-year-old wife Ecaterina, and their children Emily, 13, and Mark, 7 — were killed when the bus struck their Acura SUV.

According to a GoFundMe campaign launched by the family's friend to raise funds "to help cover funeral expenses and transportation of the bodies from Virginia to Massachusetts," the Doncev family immigrated to the United States in 2008.

"Today, words cannot adequately express the pain and sorrow felt by their family, friends, church community, coworkers, classmates, and all who had the privilege of knowing them. Their absence leaves a void that can never be filled, but their memories, their love, and the countless lives they touched will remain forever in our hearts," the family friend wrote.

Their GoFundMe has raised $46,285 of its $80,000 goal.

In addition, a 25-year-old woman from Worcester, Massachusetts, who was in a Chevrolet Suburban, also died during the crash.

Recalling the incident, Rhonda Wright, a passenger on the bus, told The Washington Post that the crash "jolted me awake."

"I heard bang, bang, bang. The bus was going really, really fast," she recalled, adding, "He saved my life when the smoke started coming. I was scared to death to jump. But there was smoke in the bus. I had to go."