Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, has been charged with second-degree murder after crashing her SUV into a Los Angeles city bus on Tuesday, killing two passengers. The incident also resulted in the deaths of a news helicopter reporter, pilot, and a pedestrian when the helicopter crashed while covering the event. Rios faces additional charges including DUI and reckless driving; she could receive a maximum sentence of life in prison. Police found drugs in her vehicle, suggesting impairment at the time of the crash.
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 accused of ramming into a Los Angeles city bus Tuesday has been charged with second-degree murder in the deadly crash, officials announced Thursday.
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officials → accuse → crash
Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, was arrested Wednesday in connection with the crash, which killed two passengers.
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which → arrest → passengers
While it was covering the tragedy, a news helicopter crashed nearby, killing the reporter and the pilot on board and a pedestrian on the ground.
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helicopter → cover → ground
“What is particularly tragic about this case is that this is a preventable tragedy,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman told reporters.
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Hochman → tell → reporters
In addition to the two counts of second-degree murder, Rios has also been charged with driving under the influence of a drug and reckless driving, according to a complaint.
uncertain
Rios → charge → complaint
“She will be looking at a maximum sentence of life in prison,” Hochman said.
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Hochman → look → prison
It was not immediately clear whether Rios had an attorney who could speak on her behalf.
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who → have → behalf
According to police, Rios drove her 2004 Ford Expedition the wrong way down a busy street, ran a red light and hit a car before she slammed into the bus.
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she → accord → bus
She was rescued by first responders and taken to a local hospital.
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She → rescue → hospital
Investigators found drugs in Rios’ car following the wreck, and prosecutors suspect she was driving under the influence, Hochman said.
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Hochman → find → influence
“She was driving well beyond the speed limit, she entered into opposing traffic because she was approaching a red light where cars were stopped, and she didn’t stop,” he said.
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he → drive → light
One passenger was fully ejected from the bus and another was partially ejected, police said.
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police → eject → bus
Video from the scene in Chatsworth, a neighborhood in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, showed Rios’ SUV partially wedged into the middle of the bus.
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SUV → show → bus
In a helicopter high above, reporter Eliana Moreno described the crash as “horrific” on live television.
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Moreno → describe → television
“This is terrifying,” she said in what would become one of her final broadcasts.
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what → say → broadcasts
Moreno and pilot George Marciniw were killed when the chopper, providing coverage for NBC Los Angeles and Telemundo 52, suddenly lost altitude and plummeted toward two storage containers.
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chopper → kill → containers
A person on the ground, Edy Gutierrez Mejia, also died.
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person → die → ground
NewsChopper 4 was owned and operated by Angel City Air.
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NewsChopper → own → Air
The deaths left Chatsworth and the greater Los Angeles community in shock and mourning.
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deaths → leave → shock
Rios’ loved ones said they never could have imagined she would be involved in something so horrific.
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she → love → something
“It’s so awful,” her mother, Cindy Rios, told NBC News in a brief phone call Thursday.
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mother → ’ → call
Rios’ longtime friend Brad Aragon told the California Post that Rios had struggled with addiction in the past and went to rehab at least once.
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Rios → tell → rehab
He confirmed the Post’s reporting to NBC News.
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He → confirm → News
On social media, Rios occasionally posted about being in recovery and battling addictions.
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Rios → post → addictions
Friends left encouraging words and offered help if she needed it.
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she → leave → it
Hours before the crash, Aragon and Rios had texted each other about planning a visit in October.
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Aragon → texte → October
She seemed shaken by recent events in her life and said she was hanging around with people she knew were toxic, Aragon told the Post.
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Aragon → seem → Post
According to court records, Rios was convicted in 2022 of driving with a suspended license.
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Rios → accord → license
Previous charges of driving under the influence, drug possession and carrying drug paraphernalia were dismissed.
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charges → drive → paraphernalia
Hochman said his office is still examining her criminal record.
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office → say → record
Rios is expected to be arraigned Friday, he said.
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he → expect → ?
She is being held on $4 million bail.
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She → hold → bail
Asked whether the three helicopter-related deaths would be rolled into Rios’ case, Hochman declined to speculate.
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Hochman → ask → case
“We’ll wait to see what the investigation reveals, and then we’ll make the call at that time,” he said.
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he → wait → time
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