Charter bus driver in Virginia crash charged with additional counts of involuntary manslaughter

Virginia prosecutors on Monday announced additional involuntary manslaughter charges against the charter bus driver who was allegedly involved in a fatal bus crash last week that resulted in five fatalities.

Stafford Commonwealth District Attorney Eric Olsen said Jing Dong, a New York-based driver who became a naturalized U.S. citizen after arriving from China, has been charged with a total of five felony counts of involuntary manslaughter and a misdemeanor charge of reckless driving, according to CBS News. He was initially charged with two involuntary manslaughter counts over the weekend.

Investigators alleged that Dong's E&P Travel bus struck an SUV traveling ahead of it in the southbound lanes of I-95 in Stafford County around 2:35 a.m. Friday, resulting in a chain-reaction crash. 

Authorities said the impact caused the SUV to collide with another vehicle. A family traveling in that vehicle included two parents, a teenage girl and a young boy. They died after their car caught fire. A fifth victim was also killed in the crash. Dozens of others were injured. 

Dong, who was injured in the crash, remains in hospital in the custody of Virginia jail officials and will be transported to jail once discharged, according to the BBC. Each count of involuntary manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.