They were on their way home after spending their holidays in southern Italy: Antonella Doneda, 66, and Maurizio De Panfilis, 76, the couple who died in the serious accident that occurred on Sunday morning on the A14 highway, between Riccione and Rimini Sud.
The pair were heading north aboard a BMW GS. Shortly before the crash, they had stopped at the Foglia Est service station, where security cameras filmed the 76-year-old refueling the bike before setting off again with his partner. The journey came to a tragic end at around 11:30 a.m., roughly one kilometer past the Montefeltro service area, when the motorbike rear-ended a Hyundai traveling ahead of them.
Investigations by the Highway Police (Polizia Autostradale) reportedly revealed an extremely high speed: at the moment of impact, the BMW is believed to have been traveling at around 180 km/h (112 mph). The force of the collision threw both riders onto the asphalt. De Panfilis died instantly. Doneda, found in critical condition, was resuscitated by emergency medical crews and airlifted to the Bufalini Hospital in Cesena, where she died on Sunday evening.
Antonella Doneda was a well-known pharmacist in Pedrengo, in the province of Bergamo, where she ran the town’s historic pharmacy. Beyond her professional work, she was an active presence in community life, collaborating with the town council, the parish, and the local shopkeepers’ association. The family pharmacy also funded scholarships for deserving students.
The news of her death, along with that of her partner, has caused deep grief throughout the Bergamo community, where the 66-year-old was also remembered for the care and attention she devoted to elderly and vulnerable people.
