The Aporia · Driver who crashed into LA bus before NBC helicopter accident arrested on murder charges

Driver who crashed into LA bus before NBC helicopter accident arrested on murder charges

Read the original at The Independent ↗

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Fernández, J. (2026, September 16). Driver who crashed into LA bus before NBC helicopter accident arrested on murder charges. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/la-bus-crash-murder-arrest-nbc-helicopter-b3051501.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, has been arrested and charged with murder after her SUV crashed into an LA Metro bus on Tuesday, causing multiple injuries and two deaths. The crash occurred when Rios's vehicle ran a red light in the wrong direction before hitting the bus, embedding itself inside and ejecting one occupant. Hours later, while NBC News was covering this incident from a helicopter, that helicopter also crashed nearby, killing reporter Eliana Moreno, pilot George Marciniw, and pedestrian Edy Gutierrez Mejia. Rios faces charges including reckless driving and suspected DUI; bail is set at $4 million.

Written by AI on 2026-09-17, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On Tuesday, an SUV driven by Bailee Lynn Rios crashed into an LA Metro bus near Chatsworth, killing two people on the bus. This crash was captured on video and occurred around 9:47 a.m. when Rios allegedly drove through a red light, hit another car, and then collided with the bus. The collision involved three vehicles and injured six others, including the driver of the SUV.

Following this incident, an NBC news helicopter that had been covering the crash also crashed nearby, leading to the deaths of the pilot George Marciniw and reporter Eliana Moreno, along with a pedestrian named Edy Gutierrez Mejia. Rios is facing multiple charges including two counts of second-degree murder for the bus victims Daniel Castillo (46) and Gage Weida (31), driving under the influence, and reckless driving.

Police discovered suspected methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in Rios's vehicle post-crash, indicating she was likely high on drugs at the time. She is being held on a $4.1 million bond with a court appearance scheduled for Friday.

Written for “LA Bus Crash Before Helicopter Tragedy” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 15 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

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Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

24%

4 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

59/100

The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Crime & Law

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-17 · how these are computed

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Publisher

The Independent · 3553 article(s) · 9 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 9 correction(s)

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Jasmine Fernández

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Topics

California NBC NBC News Telemundo 52 the Los Angeles Police Department

Subjects

Moreno PERSON · 2× Rios PERSON · 2× Telemundo 52 ORG · 2× Bailee Lynn Rios PERSON · 1× California GPE · 1× Eliana Moreno PERSON · 1× George Marciniw PERSON · 1× NBC ORG · 1× NBC News ORG · 1× the Los Angeles Police Department ORG · 1×

Narrative

The SUV narrowly missed an eastbound vehicle before slamming directly into an eastbound Metro Line 166 bus, embedding itself partially inside the passenger vehicle and ejecting at least one bus occupant.

framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-17

🔮 Veteran chopper pilot and former Emmy-winning news reporter Zoey Tur posted a clip of footage on X. “If you listen, you could hear the low rotor RPM annunciator horn going off,” the expert wrote.

2026-09-17 · The Independent

Driver who crashed into LA bus before NBC helicopter accident arrested on murder charges · mixed framing

Claims (17 extracted, 4 hedged)

A California woman has been arrested on murder charges after an SUV crashed into a Los Angeles Metro bus on Tuesday, resulting in multiple injuries and two deaths. asserted

SUV → arrest → injuries

Hours later, an NBC News helicopter covering the breaking story went down near the scene, killing NBC reporter Eliana Moreno, pilot George Marciniw and a pedestrian. asserted

helicopter → cover → Moreno

Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, was identified by the Los Angeles Police Department as the driver of the 2004 Ford Expedition involved in the initial crash. asserted

Rios → identify → crash

The vehicle had been traveling south in the northbound lanes of De Soto Avenue before running a red light near the intersection with Nordhoff Street, as reported by NBC 4 Los Angeles. asserted

vehicle → travel → NBC

SUV → miss → occupant

Emergency responders transported six injured people from the scene, including Rios. asserted

responders → transport → Rios

Medical personnel reported that victims suffered severe crushing injuries, while other passengers sustained non-life-threatening trauma. asserted

passengers → report → trauma

The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner later identified two people who died as a result of the collision as 46-year-old Daniel Castillo and 31-year-old Gage Weida. asserted

who → identify → Castillo

Rios was booked on a $4 million bail, with the case moving to county prosecutors for formal charging decisions regarding suspected reckless driving, red-light violations and possible driving under the influence, according to police. uncertain

case → book → police

The Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed the later aircraft crash in Chatsworth, while NBCLA verified that NewsChopper4 was carrying Moreno and Manciniw. asserted

NewsChopper4 → confirm → Moreno

A pedestrian, identified as 29-year-old Edy Gutierrez Mejia, was also killed in the aviation incident, according to local authorities. uncertain

pedestrian → identify → authorities

Veteran chopper pilot and former Emmy-winning news reporter Zoey Tur posted a clip of footage on X. “If you listen, you could hear the low rotor RPM annunciator horn going off,” the expert wrote. uncertain

expert → win → X.

“You could also hear the engine rev down. uncertain

engine → hear → ?

This was an engine failure, and slow response into entering an auto-rotation by PiC [Pilot in Command].” asserted

This → enter → Command

NBC Los Angeles and Telemundo 52 issued a joint statement paying tribute to Marciniw and Moreno, both of whom hailed from Southern California. asserted

both → issue → California

“We are deeply saddened to share that a helicopter providing aerial news coverage for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 was involved in a fatal accident in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening,” the statement read. asserted

statement → sadden → evening

“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives.” asserted

who → extend → lives