STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. — Wayne Tobin was asleep on a bus headed from New York City to Charlotte when a violent jolt woke him.
Moments later, he was screaming for the driver to stop as the bus plowed into vehicles along Interstate 95 in Stafford County, Virginia.
"I felt the big crash, and it pushed me into the seat in front of me," Tobin told CBS 6. "I was trying to understand what was going on, and then I saw him going into the ditch. I was yelling, ‘Stop the bus.'"
The bus, operated by E&P Travel of Kings Mountain, North Carolina, was traveling south around 2:35 a.m. Friday near mile marker 146. Virginia State Police said the bus driver failed to slow for traffic approaching a work zone and struck six vehicles, killing five people in those cars and injuring dozens more.
Tobin, who was en route to Raleigh for his mother’s funeral, said passengers smelled smoke, possibly from the tires, and scrambled to gather their belongings after the bus came to a stop in a ravine in the middle of the interstate's north and southbound lanes.
Emergency crews opened the rear exit to help people out.
"There was blood everywhere. People holding their heads, their shoulders, still waking up trying to figure out what was going on," he said.
Outside, the scene was “chaotic,” Tobin said, with passengers pulling each other together and checking on injuries while waiting for EMTs.
Tobin said he suffered shoulder, hip and back injuries.
He used his Apple Watch to contact family after being separated from his phone.
Officials said 34 people were taken to hospitals, three with critical injuries.
Mary Washington Healthcare reported treating 19 crash victims at two facilities — seven at Mary Washington Hospital, where two remain in critical condition, and 12 at Stafford Hospital, all later discharged in good condition.
Hospital staff said they continued to assist patients with meals, personal needs and transportation until they could be reunited with belongings.
The crash closed I-95 south for just over four hours, reopening around noon. Traffic was backed up for roughly five miles even after lanes were cleared.
The National Transportation Safety Board has dispatched a “go-team” to investigate. The crash remains under investigation by Virginia State Police, and charges are pending.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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