A Los Angeles SUV driver was under the influence of drugs when she caused a multi-vehicle collision that killed two city bus riders, prompting prosecutors to file murder charges, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman. The Tuesday crash preceded a separate, fatal news helicopter collision that investigators are actively examining for clues.
Murder Charges Filed in Los Angeles Bus Collision
Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, faces two charges of second-degree murder following the Tuesday crash, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced during a Thursday news conference. According to prosecutors, Rios was speeding and impaired by drugs when she drove her 2004 Ford Expedition the wrong way down a busy avenue, struck an initial vehicle, blew a red light, and plowed directly into a Los Angeles city bus.
The collision killed two passengers on the bus, identified by authorities as 46-year-old Daniel Castillo and 31-year-old Gage Weida, as reported by the Associated Press. Castillo left behind four children, according to a fundraising page established for funeral expenses. Rios was being held on $4.1 million bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Friday, according to court records cited by the Associated Press.
Online court records did not list a defense attorney for Rios, and the public defender’s office did not immediately respond to inquiries regarding legal representation, according to the Associated Press. Reached on Wednesday, the suspect’s mother, Cindy Rios, told the Associated Press that she was shocked and saddened by the events, noting she had not spoken to her daughter since the arrest and had not been contacted by law enforcement.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the circumstances surrounding the bus collision alongside local authorities.
Subsequent News Helicopter Crash Claims Three Lives
The tragedy deepened when a television news helicopter covering the initial bus collision crashed, killing all three people on board and on the ground. The victims of the aircraft crash include pilot George Marciniw, reporter Eliana Moreno, and a man on the ground identified as Edy Gutierrez Mejia, according to the Associated Press. The crash ignited a fire that consumed at least four vehicles and two storage containers.
Marciniw and Moreno worked for Angel City Air, a helicopter contractor providing aerial footage for NBC4 and Telemundo 52. Moreno joined Angel City Air in 2010 after graduating from Chapman University, while Marciniw grew up in Southern California and graduated from Burbank High School in 1974.
Federal records show the incident is part of a broader toll, marking at least the eighth fatal crash involving a news helicopter in the United States since 2000, resulting in 16 deaths, according to an Associated Press review of accident records and news accounts.
NTSB Investigates Final Broadcast Footage for Clues
Investigators examining the helicopter crash are focusing on the final seconds of video broadcast by the crew before the aircraft went down, according to National Transportation Safety Board investigator Fabian Salazar. Salazar told the Associated Press that the footage represents the most important evidence discovered thus far in the aviation inquiry.
In the broadcast recording, an audible cockpit alarm sounds just before a woman’s voice says “uh oh.” The helicopter then maneuvers away from the bus crash site, begins losing altitude, and the crew member asks, “You can’t pull up?” before the transmission cuts out near ground level.
Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti told the Associated Press that the cockpit warning sounds indicate a potential loss of engine power and a critical drop in main rotor speed, suggesting the pilot may have attempted an emergency maneuver to use airflow to restore rotor momentum. A vigil was planned for Thursday evening to honor the victims of both the bus and helicopter crashes.
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