Prosecutors in Los Angeles County charged 36-year-old Bailee Lynn Rios with two counts of second-degree murder on Thursday following a fatal collision between an SUV and a city bus. The crash occurred on Tuesday and was followed by the crash of a television news helicopter that was providing aerial coverage of the initial scene.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman stated during a news conference that Rios was speeding and under the influence of drugs when she drove a 2004 Ford Expedition the wrong way on a busy avenue. According to prosecutors, Rios swerved into the wrong lane, drove through a red light, and struck a vehicle before colliding with the Los Angeles city bus. The impact killed two bus passengers, identified by authorities as 46-year-old Daniel Castillo and 31-year-old Gage Weida.
The subsequent crash of the news helicopter resulted in three additional deaths: pilot George Marciniw, reporter Eliana Moreno, and Edy Gutierrez Mejia, who was on the ground. Surveillance footage shows the helicopter losing altitude on a diagonal angle before impacting behind trees, causing a fire that burned four cars and two storage containers. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating both the helicopter crash and the bus collision.
The scale of the incident includes five total fatalities across two related crashes and significant property damage, including the damage to a helicopter, four vehicles, and two storage containers. For the families of the victims, such as the daughter of Daniel Castillo, the impact is a permanent loss. While the exact financial cost of the property damage was not reported, the destruction occurred in a populated residential and commercial area, causing immediate disruptions to local traffic and safety.
Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti noted that video showing an alarm suggests a potential loss of engine power. The NTSB investigation is ongoing. News helicopters have been involved in at least eight fatal U.S. crashes since 2000. Rios remains held on $4.1 million bail and is scheduled for a court appearance on Friday. A public defender has not yet been appointed to her case.