National Transportation Safety Board report details fatal 2022 York County party bus crash

NORFOLK, Va. — It’s been over a year since three people were killed when a party bus and semi crashed on I-64 in York County. Since then, the family of two victims told News 3 they’re desperate to see some accountability. Patricia Deloatch is the maternal grandmother of Jontae Russell and Xzavier Evans, two young men and fathers who were tragically killed in a party bus crash in 2022.

After their death, Deloatch says the family would get updates from police about what happened, one year later there has been silence.

Leondra Head11:25 PM, Dec 29, 2022[1]

“Somebody should have reached out to the family by now, and they haven’t,” said Deloatch through tears. “The only thing I know is that I lost my two grandsons and another parent lost their daughter,” On Dec.16, 2022, Xzavier Evans and Jontae Russell were passengers in a party bus owned by Futrell’s Party Adventures. Ciara Russell, the victim’s little sister, said the night started as a happy occasion.

The boys were coming back from Evans’s rap performance. “Music was his dream,” said Russell. “He wanted to be a rapper and wasn’t even to be famous. It was for his son.”

According to search warrants from that night, both the party bus and tractor-trailer were driving in the same lane when a semi hit the bus from behind. Watch previous coverage: Family of York County party bus crash victims calls for charges

Troopers pursuing charges against both drivers in party bus crash

The collision forced both vehicles off the road, killing three people and injuring numerous injured. A recently released report from theNational Transportation Safety Board[2] said the bus was not being operated in commerce and instead was being used for personal capacity.

It adds that the bus required the driver to have a commercial driver’s license with a passenger endorsement due to the people on board. Antonio Wiggins, the driver of the party bus was not a paid employee for this trip and had his license suspended months earlier for “insurance monitoring.” Deloatch commented on the driver of the party bus, believing it was irresponsible for him to be behind the wheel.

“The driver of the party bus was not experienced,” said Deloatch. “He was a young man, a friend of my grandsons. He was unprepared for the crash, and it destroyed my family.”

Jay Greene4:43 PM, Dec 29, 2022[3]

According to search warrants, Wiggins told police he saw the truck from behind approaching fast and couldn’t get out of the way. The driver of the truck said he didn’t see any tail lights on the bus before the crash.

According to the NTSB report, the party bus driver said he was going 40 mph at the time of the crash. The report noted that the tractor-trailer was driving 65-70 mph on cruise control, which police determined to be within the speed limit. Russell and Evans’s family told News 3 that getting justice has been slow.

However, the NTSB said they’re still investigating–something that could take one to two years to complete.

Virginia State Police said they’ve turned the investigation over to the York County Commonwealth Attorney.

News 3 reached out but has not heard back about pending charges and the next steps.

References

1. ^ NewsFamily of York County party bus crash victims calls for charges Leondra Head 11:25 PM, Dec 29, 2022 (www.wtkr.com)
2. ^ National Transportation Safety Board (data.ntsb.gov)
3. ^ NewsTroopers to pursue charges against both drivers in deadly I-64 crash: Warrant Jay Greene 4:43 PM, Dec 29, 2022 (www.wtkr.com)