Authorities say the driver involved in last week’s deadly bus crash in Virginia is a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from China who reportedly does not speak English.
The crash on Interstate 95 early Friday morning left five people dead, including two children, and injured more than 40 others in one of the region’s most serious highway accidents this year.
Investigators say the chain-reaction collision began when the bus driver failed to slow down in time and slammed into a Chevrolet Suburban. The force of the impact pushed the Suburban into an Acura SUV, triggering a multi-vehicle crash that quickly turned catastrophic, reports said.
“The Acura caught fire, police said. Four of the five people killed were in the Acura: a 45-year-old man, a 44-year-old woman, a 13-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy, all from Greenfield, Massachusetts, police said,” ABC News reported.
“The fifth victim killed, a 25-year-old woman, was in the Suburban, police said,” the outlet reported.
“Forty-four people were taken to hospitals, including three with critical injuries, police said,” ABC reported.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the driver of the bus doesn’t even speak English.
The driver obtained his CDL in Democrat-run New York in 2024.
Here’s Duffy’s full statement, posted to the X platform:
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 site working with the @NTSB.
Local police confirm the driver of this motorcoach — a man from China who became a U.S. citizen — doesn’t speak English. He received his commercial drivers license from New York State in 2024.
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.
If you can’t be properly trained, read our road signs, or communicate with law enforcement, you have no business driving a bus.
Our investigators are reviewing New York licensing records, training documentation, and the driver’s history. Any company, trainer, or school that contributed to putting an unqualified driver on the road will face intense scrutiny.
We’ll share more updates soon.
My prayers are with the loved ones of the innocent lives lost and those who were hurt in this horrific crime.
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
WATCH:
TRAGEDY in Virginia: 5 dead, 40+ hurt after a Chinese naturalized driver (CDL from NY despite not speaking English) caused a massive I-95 pileup in a work zone.
Sean Duffy is right, if you can’t read signs or talk to cops, you shouldn’t be driving a bus.
Enforce the damn… pic.twitter.com/VcbDMdUyrz
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) May 30, 2026
In a related story, earlier this week Justice Clarence Thomas sharply criticized the Supreme Court on Monday for refusing to hear Florida’s lawsuit against California and Washington over commercial driver’s licenses issued to illegal aliens.
Florida argued the two states were undermining public safety by allowing individuals without legal immigration status — and, in some cases, insufficient English-language proficiency — to obtain commercial trucking licenses despite federal standards intended to govern interstate transportation safety.
The dispute gained national attention after a deadly 2025 crash on the Florida Turnpike involving an undocumented truck driver reportedly licensed through California or Washington.
According to the lawsuit, the driver allegedly made an illegal U-turn and was unable to properly interpret roadway signage, resulting in a collision that killed three people.
Joined by Justice Samuel Alito, Thomas argued the high court had a constitutional obligation to hear the interstate dispute because Florida had no other legal forum available to challenge another state’s policies.
The court’s majority denied Florida’s request without explanation.
Thomas ripped the majority for refusing to hear the lawsuit since disputes between states can only be brought before the Supreme Court.
“If this Court does not exercise jurisdiction over a controversy between two States, then the complaining State has no judicial forum in which to seek relief,” Thomas wrote.
The case underscores the growing national clash over immigration enforcement, state licensing authority, and whether states with looser immigration policies are creating broader public safety consequences for the rest of the country.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
