STAFFORD, Va. (AP) — A bus struck six vehicles on Interstate 95 in Virginia as traffic slowed for a work zone, killing five people and sending 34 to hospitals, state police said Friday.
The crash happened at about 2:35 a.m. on southbound I-95 in Stafford County. All five of the people who died were in vehicles hit by the bus, and three of the injured are in critical condition, police said.
“The preliminary investigation indicates that traffic was slowing
southbound for an upcoming work zone,” state police said in a news release. “A bus failed to slow for traffic and struck six vehicles."
It was not immediately known what the bus was being used for or how many people were aboard.
Mary Washington Healthcare said it received 19 patients from the crash. It posted online that seven of the patients were taken to its trauma center in Fredericksburg, where four were being discharged and three remained in treatment — one in serious condition and two in critical condition. Twelve were taken to its hospital in Stafford, where they were later discharged in good condition.
The crash is under investigation and charges are pending, police said.
The National Transportation Safety Board posted online Friday that it was sending a “go-team” to conduct a safety investigation into the crash and that it would have a spokesperson at the scene.
The southbound lanes had reopened by noon Friday, but traffic was still backed up for a couple of miles, according to a state transportation advisory.
