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.
asserted
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.
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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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