Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, was charged with two counts of second degree murder after crashing her Ford Expedition into a Los Angeles Metro bus at high speed through a red light in Chatsworth, killing two people and injuring five others. Authorities found suspected methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in Rios’s vehicle, leading to additional charges including driving under the influence and reckless driving. Her actions also indirectly caused an NBC news helicopter crash that killed the pilot and reporter, resulting in total fatalities of four from both incidents. Rios faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if convicted and is currently hospitalized on $4.03 million bail.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On Tuesday, a 36-year-old woman named Bailee Lynn Rios drove her 2004 Ford Expedition the wrong way down De Soto Avenue in Los Angeles, ran a red light near Nordhoff Street, missed another vehicle, and then crashed into an eastbound Metro Line 166 bus. This collision killed two passengers on the bus, Daniel Castillo (46) and Gage Weida (31), and injured six others. Rios was found to be under the influence of drugs; narcotics were discovered in her vehicle post-crash.
Hours later, an NBC News helicopter covering this incident crashed near the scene, killing reporter Eliana Moreno, pilot George Marciniw, and a pedestrian. Rios was arrested on Wednesday, charged with two counts of second-degree murder, driving under the influence (DUI), and reckless driving. Her bail was set at $4 million, but she remains hospitalized due to injuries sustained in the crash.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman called this a preventable tragedy, emphasizing that Rios's impaired state and illegal actions led directly to these fatalities.
Written for “LA Bus Crash Before Helicopter Disaster” on 2026-09-18,
grounded in this article and the 8 other(s) covering the same event.
The woman allegedly high on drugs who smashed into a Los Angeles Metro bus, killing two people and setting off a chain reaction of events that ultimately led to the death of an NBC reporter and her helicopter pilot, was charged with two counts of second degree murder.
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that → smash → murder
Bailee Lynn Rios barreled through a Chatsworth intersection in her Ford Expedition at a high rate of speed Tuesday, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said at a press conference Thursday.
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Hochman → barrel → conference
Hochman revealed Rios was charged with two counts of second degree murder, alleging she was high on drugs and carrying drugs in her vehicle at the time of the crash.
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she → reveal → crash
She will also be charged with driving under the influence and reckless driving.
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She → charge → influence
She faces a maximum sentence of life behind bars if convicted, he said.
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he → face → bars
Hochman called the deaths caused by Rios preventable, adding she didn’t need to get behind the wheel while impaired or drive through the red light on the wrong side of the road.
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she → call → road
In addition to the two people killed, five other people were injured, including two people who were thrown out of the bus, Hochman said.
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Hochman → kill → bus
He also mentioned the NBC news helicopter crash that killed reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw.
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that → mention → Moreno
Rios, 36, is currently being held on a bail amount set at $4.03 million.
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Rios → hold → million
The charges come after Rios was a no show at her scheduled arraignment Thursday due to medical reasons — she’s been in the hospital since the crash.
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she → come → crash
She is expected again in court Friday morning.
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She → expect → court
Rios was hospitalized after the horrific crash that sent her silver SUV barreling into the Metro Bus during rush hour on Tuesday.
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SUV → hospitalize → Tuesday
The crash embedded her vehicle into the bus, killing the two passengers and injuring several others.
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crash → embed → others
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Cops discovered suspected methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in her vehicle following the deadly Tuesday wreck, sources with knowledge of the investigation told the California Post.
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sources → download → Post
The crash indirectly resulted in a horrific chain of events, leading to NBC’s chopper plummeting to the ground and killing the pilot, George Marciniw, and reporter Eliana Moreno.
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chopper → result → pilot
The helicopter also killed Edy Gutierrez Mejia, a bystander on the ground.
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helicopter → kill → ground
The news of the helicopter crash sent shockwaves through Los Angeles and the rest of the nation.
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news → send → nation
KNBC has been scrambling to cover the tragedy while grieving two of their own.
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KNBC → scramble → own
Mourners have laid flowers at a makeshift memorial at Whiteman Airport in Pacoima – the site where the NewsChopper 4 would fly out from.
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NewsChopper → lay → where
The California Post obtained exclusive video of the crash, showing Rios’ SUV smash into the bus at high speed, sending debris everywhere.
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SUV → obtain → debris
The LA County Department of the Medical Examiner identified the victims of the bus crash as Gage Weida, 31, and Daniel Castillo, 46 on Wednesday morning.
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Department → identify → morning
Castillo’s family said they wish they would have had more time with him.
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they → say → him
“Our dad brought so much love, laughter, joy, and light into our world.
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dad → bring → world
We are incredibly blessed to have loved him and to have been loved by him,” the family said in a statement.
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family → bless → statement
Weida’s family described him as a “kind, caring, and selfless son.”
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family → describe → son
Weida’s girlfriend, Autumn Reiff, also shared an emotional tribute to the 31-year-old on Facebook Wednesday morning.
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girlfriend → share → Facebook
“We were so young and in love, my sugar muffin, my boo, my other half, the person that was the closest to me, someone who loved me unconditionally and that I loved back,” Reiff wrote.
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Reiff → love → me
The couple had been together for almost a decade, according to Reiff.
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couple → accord → Reiff
“Wake me up from this bad dream, my head hurts so much from crying,” she added.
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she → wake → dream
“My world is shattered.
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world → shatter → ?
I ask the lord why he couldn’t have taken me first.”
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he → ask → me
“Brad, it’s not a joking matter on this bf thing its serious and im honestly scared but yes of course imma come see you,” read a text from Rios to Aragon at 1:24 p.m. Tuesday — only hours before her SUV slammed into the side of the Metro bus.
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SUV → ’ → bus
“She was saying lately that she was associating with certain people that she shouldn’t be associating with.
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she → say → that
I was going to help her with that,” he said.
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he → go → that
Rios allegedly smashed into the bus five hours after the text exchange.
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Rios → smash → exchange
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