A Massachusetts woman who had expressed excitement about her upcoming vacation to Florida was killed the next day in a horrific chain-reaction crash on Interstate 95 in Virginia.
Victim Identified
Priscilla R Mafalda, 25, of Worcester, was identified over the weekend as the fifth person killed when a passenger bus plowed into at least six vehicles near Quantico in the early hours of Friday morning. She had told her friend Thaiz Ramos, 'I'm very tired but thank God I'm finally taking some vacation time. I'm going to Florida,' Ramos recounted to the Boston Globe. Ramos added that Mafalda promised to call when she arrived, saying, 'I am still waiting for that call, because part of me still cannot believe she is gone.'
The Crash
Mafalda was traveling with her husband, Igor Ernesto, when the Chevrolet Suburban they were in was struck by a bus that failed to slow for traffic near a work zone. The impact forced their vehicle into an Acura carrying Dmitri Doncev, 45, his wife Ecaterina Doncev, 44, and their children Emily Doncev, 14, and Mark Doncev, 7, all of whom were also killed.
Bus Driver Charged
The bus driver, Jing S Dong, 48, faces five counts of involuntary manslaughter and a misdemeanor count of reckless driving, according to WJLA. Dong, a Chinese immigrant and US citizen, received his commercial driver's license from New York in 2024 and had a prior speeding citation in Maryland.
Remembering Mafalda
Friends and coworkers described Mafalda, who was born in Brazil, as a kind and hardworking person. Her boss Monique Almeida told WHDH, 'I will always remember her beautiful smile, her kindness and the way she made people feel comfortable and cared for.' Coworker Milene Santos said, 'It was so easy to become her friend and so easy to love her.' An online fundraiser to return her remains to Brazil raised over $21,000 before being paused, with funds now directed to medical care for survivors.
Aftermath
Authorities said 44 people were taken to hospitals, three in critical condition. Passenger Wayne Tobin, en route to his mother's funeral, described the scene as 'horrible... blood everywhere.' The Stafford Fire Department called the response 'a complex and labor-intensive operation.'
