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

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 ↗

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Koenig, M. (2026, September 17). Woman behind the wheel of SUV that slammed into LA bus before NBC chopper crash was 'impaired by drugs' as prior convictions are revealed. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16140731/Bailee-Lynn-Rios-drugs-convictions-LA-bus-crash.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

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 by AI on 2026-09-18, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On Tuesday, an SUV driven by Bailee Lynn Rios crashed into an LA Metro bus near Chatsworth, killing two people on the bus. This crash was captured on video and occurred around 9:47 a.m. when Rios allegedly drove through a red light, hit another car, and then collided with the bus. The collision involved three vehicles and injured six others, including the driver of the SUV.

Following this incident, an NBC news helicopter that had been covering the crash also crashed nearby, leading to the deaths of the pilot George Marciniw and reporter Eliana Moreno, along with a pedestrian named Edy Gutierrez Mejia. Rios is facing multiple charges including two counts of second-degree murder for the bus victims Daniel Castillo (46) and Gage Weida (31), driving under the influence, and reckless driving.

Police discovered suspected methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in Rios's vehicle post-crash, indicating she was likely high on drugs at the time. She is being held on a $4.1 million bond with a court appearance scheduled for Friday.

Written for “LA Bus Crash Before Helicopter Tragedy” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 15 other(s) covering the same event.

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Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

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Crime & Law

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Who wrote this

Melissa Koenig

84 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction

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Also by Melissa Koenig

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 84 articles by Melissa Koenig →

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

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

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Claims (8 extracted, 0 hedged)