Overview
- Virginia State Police said a passenger bus traveling from New York to North Carolina struck slowed traffic around 2:35 a.m. Friday in Stafford County, setting off a chain-reaction crash that killed five people and injured many others.
- Among the dead are 25-year-old Priscilla R. Mafalda of Worcester and four members of the Doncev family from Greenfield, Massachusetts, who were identified over the weekend.
- The bus driver has been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and Virginia authorities say additional charges are possible as the probe continues.
- Dozens of people were taken to hospitals, including Mafalda’s husband who remains hospitalized, and a GoFundMe to return Mafalda’s body to Brazil had raised about $12,000 by Sunday.
- The crash occurred near a work zone on a major overnight travel corridor, a setup that can make large-bus collisions especially deadly, and investigators’ next steps include reviewing driver actions and the scene for safety factors that could affect future charges or rules.