Driver Charged With Murder, DUI in Bus Crash NewsChopper4 Was Covering

Prosecutors filed murder and DUI charges against the SUV driver

CHATSWORTH — Los Angeles County prosecutors charged Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, on Thursday with two counts of murder, one felony count of driving under the influence of a drug causing injury and one misdemeanor count of reckless driving on a highway. The filing in case 26SFCF01880 converts the earlier arrest allegation into formal criminal charges; it does not establish guilt.

The District Attorney's Office alleges Rios drove an SUV at high speed on the wrong side of the road at Nordhoff Street and De Soto Avenue, ran a red light and struck an in-service Los Angeles Metro bus Tuesday afternoon. Two passengers were killed. Prosecutors say at least five other people were injured, including two critically; LAPD's earlier account said six people were transported from the bus-collision scene.

Rios is scheduled to be arraigned Friday, September 18, in San Fernando. Prosecutors asked the court to set bail at $4.1 million and say she could face life in prison with the possibility of parole if convicted as charged. The court has not entered a conviction or imposed a sentence, and Rios is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Authorities identified the bus victims and the man killed on the ground

The Los Angeles County medical examiner identified the two people killed in the bus collision as Gage Weida, 31, and Daniel Castillo, 46. LAPD says six people were taken to hospitals; one passenger had severe injuries and the others had injuries described as not life-threatening.

The medical examiner also identified the person killed on the ground in the helicopter crash as Edy Gutierrez Mejia, 29. The Associated Press reports that Guatemala's consulate confirmed he was from Guatemala.

These identities clarify the five deaths across two separate crashes: Weida and Castillo in the bus collision, and Gutierrez Mejia, aerial journalist Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw in the helicopter crash. The casualty counts should not be combined in a way that implies all five died in the same impact.

NewsChopper4 crashed while covering the bus collision

Three people were killed Tuesday night when the helicopter providing aerial news coverage for NBC4 Los Angeles and Telemundo 52 crashed and burned in the 9100 block of North Mason Avenue. NBC4 says the aircraft went down between two commercial buildings and was operated by Angel City Air.

NBC4 identified Moreno and Marciniw as the two Angel City Air employees aboard. Reuters reports that more than 70 firefighters responded and that two surviving patients were transported from the helicopter scene. The impact and fire damaged four vehicles and two storage containers.

The timing and proximity establish why the aircraft was over Chatsworth. They do not mean the road collision caused the helicopter crash, and no reviewed official source has announced such a connection.

The helicopter's final video is evidence—not a final cause finding

The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating. NTSB investigator Fabian Salazar said Wednesday that the helicopter's final broadcast video is probably the most important evidence discovered so far, according to the Associated Press.

AP reports that an alarm can be heard before the aircraft loses altitude. Salazar said the sounds were consistent with the engine changing speed and were likely advisory tones. An independent aviation expert told AP the alarm resembled a low-rotor-speed warning and described loss of engine power as a possibility—not a confirmed finding.

No cause has been announced. The video and expert analysis do not establish engine failure, pilot error, maintenance trouble or any other specific explanation. A final determination requires the federal investigation's examination of wreckage, records, communications and other evidence.

NBC4 and Telemundo 52 mourn their colleagues

NBC4 and Telemundo 52 said they were deeply saddened by the fatal accident and extended condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who died.

NBC4 says Moreno joined the Angel City Air helicopter team in 2010 after earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science from Chapman University. The station says Marciniw grew up in Southern California and that the two had flown together since 2023.

Their identification confirms who NBC4 says was aboard; it does not resolve the crash sequence or determine legal responsibility. Those conclusions belong to the federal investigation.

About the image

The accompanying image is an authentic 2014 photograph of a television helicopter flying above Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Photographer Doug Fawley licensed the image under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0, and it is available through Wikimedia Commons.

It is used only to show the type of aerial newsgathering involved. It does not depict NewsChopper4, Angel City Air, Chatsworth, Tuesday's crash, the Metro bus collision, any victim or the investigation, and its use does not imply endorsement by the photographer or Wikimedia Commons.