An elevated view showing both vehicles after they had been removed from the crash scene and taken to a tow yard. The medium-size

​​An elevated view showing both vehicles after they had been removed from the crash scene and taken to a tow yard. The medium-size bus is in the foreground. The bus body sustained catastrophic damage in the crash and the interior seating can be seen from this right-side view of the vehicle. The truck-tractor from the combination vehicle is located behind and to the left of the bus, and the significant damage to the front of the vehicle can be seen. 

Rear-End Collision between Combination Vehicle and Medium-Size Bus

What Happened

​This information is preliminary and subject to change. Release date​: 10 January 2023​

​About 1:38 a.m. eastern standard time on Friday, December 16, 2022, a 2000 International medium-size bus (bus) was traveling in the eastbound far-right lane on Interstate 64 (I-64) near Williamsburg, York County, Virginia. The bus was privately owned by the principal operator of Futrell’s Party Adventures and was occupied by the driver and about 23 passengers. The bus was advertised as a “party bus” and featured limousine-style seating (perimeter bench seats, so that the passengers face each other). At the same time, a 2022 Freightliner Cascadia truck-tractor in combination with a Great Dane van-style semitrailer (combination vehicle), operated by Triton Logistics Inc., was also traveling in the eastbound far-right lane on I-64 behind the bus. While in the vicinity of mile marker 240, the combination vehicle approached the bus at a higher speed and collided with the rear of the bus. As a result of the crash, the body of the bus’s passenger compartment was destroyed and multiple passengers on the bus were ejected. Three of the passengers were fatally injured. Both vehicle operators survived the crash, and the remaining passengers were treated for various injuries. 

​​Parties working in conjunction with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation include:

  • Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
  • Virginia State Police
  • Virginia Department of Transportation

All aspects of the crash remain under investigation while the NTSB determines the probable cause, with the intent of issuing safety recommendations to prevent similar events. 

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