The Aporia · The driver who slammed into an LA bus before a news helicopter crash is charged with murder

The driver who slammed into an LA bus before a news helicopter crash is charged with murder

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗

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The Associated Press. (2026, September 17). The driver who slammed into an LA bus before a news helicopter crash is charged with murder. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/world/united-states/driver-who-slammed-into-la-bus-before-news-helicopter-crash-to-face-murder-charges-prosecutor-says/article_ef9220ac-3895-581b-b694-ae905372ef6c.html

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Quick Summary

Los Angeles County prosecutors charged Bailee Lynn Rios with two counts of second-degree murder after she allegedly drove under the influence into a Los Angeles city bus on Tuesday, killing Daniel Castillo and Gage Weida. Rios faces $4.1 million bail as investigators look into both the car crash and subsequent fatal helicopter crash that was covering the scene, which killed three more people including pilot George Marciniw, reporter Eliana Moreno, and bystander Edy Gutierrez Mejia.

Written by AI on 2026-09-18, 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.

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Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

18%

5 of 28 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

64/100

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

Outlets on this story

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articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-18 · how these are computed

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Publisher

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Topics

Expedition Ford LOS ANGELES Los Angeles County National Transportation Safety Board

Subjects

Marciniw PERSON · 3× Angel City Air ORG · 2× Bailee Lynn Rios PERSON · 2× Castillo PERSON · 2× LOS ANGELES GPE · 2× Moreno PERSON · 2× NBC4 ORG · 2× Rios PERSON · 2× Ford GPE · 1× Los Angeles County GPE · 1×

Narrative

— An SUV driver was under the influence of drugs when she swerved into the wrong lane, blew a red light and slammed into a Los Angeles city bus, killing two riders, prosecutors said Thursday as they charged her with murder.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-18

🔮 “There are no words that can truly capture how much we will miss him or the space he leaves behind in our lives,” Castillo’s youngest daughter, Johaunna, wrote on a fundraising page for funeral expenses.

2026-09-18 · Toronto Star

The driver who slammed into an LA bus before a news helicopter crash is charged with murder · assertive framing

Claims (28 extracted, 5 hedged)

they → swerve → murder

It was a tragedy compounded by the subsequent fatal crash of a TV news helicopter that had been covering the collision. asserted

that → compound → collision

Bailee Lynn Rios was speeding and impaired when she drove her 2004 Ford Expedition the wrong way down a busy avenue and struck a vehicle before plowing into a city bus on Tuesday asserted

she → speed → Tuesday

, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman told a news conference. asserted

Hochman → tell → conference

Rios, 36, faces two charges of second-degree murder in the deaths of the two people on the bus, identified as Daniel Castillo, 46, and Gage Weida, 31. asserted

Rios → face → Castillo

Castillo left four children. asserted

Castillo → leave → children

“There are no words that can truly capture how much we will miss him or the space he leaves behind in our lives,” Castillo’s youngest daughter, Johaunna, wrote on a fundraising page for funeral expenses. asserted

daughter → be → expenses

Rios was being held on $4.1 million bail and is scheduled to appear in court Friday. asserted

Rios → hold → court

Online court records did not list a lawyer who might speak on her behalf, and the public defender’s office did not immediately return a message about whether it was representing her. uncertain

it → list → her

Reached Wednesday, her mother Cindy Rios said she was shocked and saddened by the string of events. asserted

she → reach → events

She said she had not spoken to Bailee Lynn Rios since her arrest and had not been contacted by law enforcement. asserted

she → say → enforcement

She could not immediately be reached Thursday for additional comment. uncertain

She → reach → comment

The news helicopter crash killed both people on board, pilot George Marciniw and reporter Eliana Moreno, and a man on the ground, Edy Gutierrez Mejia. asserted

crash → kill → ground

At least four cars and two storage containers burned after the helicopter caught fire. asserted

helicopter → burn → fire

A vigil was planned Thursday evening to honor the victims of both crashes. asserted

vigil → plan → crashes

There were no immediate details on what caused the helicopter to go down, but investigators said significant clues could come from the last seconds of video the crew broadcast. uncertain

crew → be → video

In it, an alarm could be heard inside the helicopter’s cockpit as it lost altitude. uncertain

it → hear → altitude

National Transportation Safety Board investigator Fabian Salazar said Wednesday that the video is “probably the most important evidence that we have discovered so far.” asserted

we → say → that

Just after the beeping starts, a woman’s voice says “uh oh.” asserted

voice → start → ?

The helicopter moves quickly away from the bus crash site and starts losing altitude. asserted

helicopter → move → altitude

The woman says “You can’t pull up?” before the video stops as the chopper nears the ground. asserted

chopper → say → ground

Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said the alarm suggests a potential loss of engine power and a dangerous decrease in the main rotor speed. uncertain

alarm → say → speed

He said the pilot appeared to be trying to perform an emergency maneuver to use the wind to force the rotor to spin again. asserted

pilot → say → rotor

The NTSB is also investigating the bus collision. asserted

NTSB → investigate → collision

Moreno and Marciniw both worked for Angel City Air, a helicopter contractor, and provided aerial coverage for NBC4 and Telemundo 52. asserted

Moreno → work → NBC4

Moreno, born in Orange County, joined Angel City Air in 2010, the same year she earned a broadcast journalism and political science degree from Chapman University. asserted

she → bear → University

She reported for several news outlets and began flying with Marciniw in 2023, NBC4 said. asserted

NBC4 → report → 2023

Marciniw grew up in Southern California and graduated from Burbank High School in 1974. asserted

Marciniw → grow → 1974