Woman behind the wheel of SUV that slammed into LA bus before NBC chopper crash was 'impaired by drugs' as prior convictions are revealed

Read the original at Daily Mail ↗
Daily Mail · collected 2026-09-17 · by Melissa Koenig

Quick Summary

Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, was charged with murder after driving her Ford SUV into a Los Angeles bus while under the influence of drugs. Found in her vehicle were narcotics that contributed to her impaired state during the collision on Wednesday morning. She faces additional charges including DUI and reckless driving, with bail set at $4.03 million. District Attorney Nathan Hochman emphasized that Rios's actions were preventable, highlighting the tragic consequences of her choice to drive while under the influence.
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).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

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.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Score +0.35 Confidence high
Leaning score +0.35 for article 17376 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-18

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
8
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
0%
0 of 8 hedged
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject
Correction & hedging signals
58.9
corrections and hedging in what we collected; not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
9
Crime & Law
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
Analyzed 2026-09-18 · how these are computed

Story

📰 LA Bus Crash Before Helicopter Disaster
Crime & Law · 9 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Woman who slammed into LA Metro bus, killing 2 before deadly helicopter crash, was allegedly high on drugs same event · 100%
New York Post · 0.89 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 9% hedged 3 of 35 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles describe the same incident where Bailee Lynn Rios, allegedly under the influence of drugs, crashed her Ford Expedition into a Los Angeles Metro bus, causing two deaths and setting off events that led to further fatalities.”
The driver who slammed into an LA bus before a news helicopter crash is charged with murder same event · 100%
Toronto Star · 0.87 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 18% hedged 5 of 28 📰 publisher trust 61
“Both articles describe the exact same incident involving Bailee Lynn Rios crashing her SUV into an LA bus while under the influence of drugs, leading to charges including murder.”
Moment SUV smashes into LA Metro bus triggering chain reaction that saw NBC helicopter disaster same event · 100%
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 5 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles describe the identical incident of an SUV crashing into an LA Metro bus, which led to multiple fatalities including those in a helicopter that crashed later while covering the scene. The same driver, Bailee Lynn Rios, is mentioned in both accounts.”
Driver who crashed into LA bus before NBC helicopter accident arrested on murder charges same event · 100%
The Independent
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 24% hedged 4 of 17 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles describe the arrest and charges of Bailee Lynn Rios for crashing into an LA bus, leading to multiple injuries and deaths, with additional details about drug impairment.”
Driver accused of murder over bus collision before fatal LA chopper crash same event · 100%
ABC News (AU)
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 10% hedged 4 of 40 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles describe the arrest of Bailee L/Rios for driving an SUV into a Los Angeles bus, killing two and injuring six others, with additional details about drug impairment and bail amount.”
Accused bus crash killer had drugs in her car before wreck that led to deadly LA helicopter crash same event · 100%
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 2 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles describe the same incident involving Bailee Lynn Rios, who was accused of driving under the influence and causing a crash that led to a helicopter crash and multiple fatalities.”
Driver charged with 2nd-degree murder in L.A. bus crash that news helicopter was covering same event · 100%
NBC News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 15% hedged 5 of 34 📰 publisher trust 95
“Both articles describe the same specific incident involving Bailee Lynn Rios being charged with murder and other crimes for crashing into a Los Angeles bus, resulting in fatalities.”
Driver who smashed into Metro bus before NBC helicopter crashed will be arrested on suspicion of murder same event · 95%
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 3 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles describe the same specific incident of an SUV crashing into a Metro bus in Los Angeles, with the driver suspected of being impaired by drugs.”

Publisher

Daily Mail · 952 article(s) · 5 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)
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Clarifications and corrections

Who wrote this

Melissa Koenig
12 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
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🔮 The Cuilapa mayor's office mourned his loss in a statement on social media, saying: 'We offer our prayers for eternal rest and ask our Lord God to grant the family patience during these moments of sorrow.
2026-09-17 · assertive framing · Third victim named in fiery Los Angeles helicopter crash that killed NBC journalist and veteran pilot as officials probe live footage to find out what went wrong
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2026-09-16 · assertive framing · Pentagon calls for only the fittest troops with 'impeccable grooming' to attend Hegseth speech: 'No exception'
🔮 Police said they were investigating whether either Kaul or Chitre was impaired by drugs or alcohol, which could have caused them to be unaware of the danger.
2026-09-15 · mixed framing · High-flying graduate best friends are killed on New York subway tracks... as cops probe if they were 'too drunk' to notice train was coming
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🔮 The company claimed it could conduct hundreds of blood tests using a single drop of blood obtained through a finger prick, but a series of investigative articles published by The Wall Street Journal exposed the fraud.
2026-09-15 · assertive framing · Fraudster Elizabeth Holmes posts kissy face selfie online ahead of secret documentary... despite being behind bars
🔮 - See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source The judge in the Lindsay Clancy trial has ordered the jurors' names be sealed indefinitely after the lone holdout's domestic violence accusations were revealed. In the order filed on Friday, Judge William Sullivan cited concerns about juror privacy, noting that one person was arrested after trying to video record jurors leaving Plymouth Superior Court.
2026-09-15 · mixed framing · Lindsay Clancy judge permanently seals jurors names as lone holdout details are leaked
🔮 He looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "Mom, they wouldn't let me in.
2026-09-15 · assertive framing · Good Samaritan, 21, trying to stop robbery is shot three times before staggering down bloodied Seattle street where passersby refused to call 911 and FILMED him instead
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2026-09-06 · assertive framing · Harrowing audio reveals fire crews racing to Amazon cargo plane crash in Miami that left five dead and five injured
Also by Melissa Koenig
Careless parents left toddler to die in filthy crib littered with waffles while blasting loud music before denying responsibility: 'It was her time I guess'
2026-09-17 · Daily Mail
Third victim named in fiery Los Angeles helicopter crash that killed NBC journalist and veteran pilot as officials probe live footage to find out what went wrong
2026-09-17 · Daily Mail
Two adults and child found dead in $1 million San Diego home after neighbor heard 'loud bangs' in the night
2026-09-16 · Daily Mail
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2026-09-16 · Daily Mail
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 12 articles by Melissa Koenig →

Topics

Daily Mail Ford Los Angeles Los Angeles County Metro

Subjects

Bailee Lynn Rios PERSON · 2× Daily Mail ORG · 1× Ford PERSON · 1× Hochman PERSON · 1× Los Angeles GPE · 1× Los Angeles County GPE · 1× Metro ORG · 1× Nathan Hochman PERSON · 1× Rios PERSON · 1×

Narrative

- See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source The woman who plowed her Ford SUV into the side of a Los Angeles bus was under the influence of drugs at the time. Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, was charged with murder Wednesday morning and was being held on $4.03 million bail. She is also facing additional counts of driving under the influence and reckless driving, as Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman claimed she was impaired by drugs and narcotics were found inside her vehicle.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-18
2026-09-18 · Daily Mail
Woman behind the wheel of SUV that slammed into LA bus before NBC chopper crash was 'impaired by drugs' as prior convictions are revealed · assertive framing

Claims (8 extracted, 0 hedged)

- See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source The woman who plowed her Ford SUV into the side of a Los Angeles bus was under the influence of drugs at the time. Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, was charged with murder Wednesday morning and was being held on $4.03 million bail. She is also facing additional counts of driving under the influence and reckless driving, as Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman claimed she was impaired by drugs and narcotics were found inside her vehicle. asserted
narcotics → see → vehicle
'What is particularly tragic about this case is that this is a preventable tragedy,' Hochman said at a news conference on Thursday. asserted
Hochman → say → Thursday
'Ms Rios did not have to get behind the wheel impaired,' he continued. asserted
he → have → wheel
'She did not have to drive on the other side of the road. asserted
She → have → road
She did not have to blow through the red light at full force to drive her SUV right into a Metro bus. asserted
She → have → bus
'She chose, and that was a choice by her, to do what she did and that choice has resulted in deadly and destructive consequences.' asserted
choice → choose → consequences
The SUV driver, Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, was charged with murder on Wednesday morning. asserted
driver → charge → morning
She was held on $4.03 million bail This is a breaking news story. asserted
This → hold → bail
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