LOS ANGELES, CA — Prosecutors have charged Bailee Lynn Rios with second-degree murder after a violent Metro bus crash in Chatsworth killed two passengers and injured six others. Investigators say the Ford Expedition she was driving entered De Soto Avenue from the wrong direction and struck a Metro Bus Line 166 as it crossed Nordhoff Street.
Video of the collision appears to show no braking in the moments before impact. The force of the crash hurled one passenger out onto the street and lodged the front of the SUV into the bus frame. Hours later, a separate NBC4 helicopter covering the scene crashed nearby, killing a journalist, a pilot and a person on the ground.
How the crash unfolded at De Soto Avenue and Nordhoff Street
The crash happened during what had appeared to be a routine afternoon commute at one of the busiest intersections in Chatsworth. Traffic in the opposing lanes was stopped when the SUV raced into the intersection at high speed and hit the bus broadside. Prosecutors say the impact was strong enough to leave wreckage jammed together at the scene.
Authorities have charged Rios with reckless driving, driving under the influence and two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Daniel Castillo, 46, and Gage Weida, 31. Weida was ejected from the bus during the collision, according to prosecutors. Rios has not been charged in connection with the later helicopter crash.
Law enforcement sources say investigators collected security camera video from around the intersection to help build their case. They are also reviewing the SUV’s event data recorder for information about speed, braking and acceleration in the final seconds before impact.
A long paper trail of drug arrests and court-supervised treatment
Court records and interviews describe years of drug-related trouble for Rios, who grew up in Simi Valley and was arrested more than a dozen times by local police, mostly on suspicion of drug offenses. Many of those arrests did not appear to lead to criminal charges, according to Ventura County court records.
When charges were filed, she often stayed out of jail. Records show she was repeatedly given probation and ordered into drug treatment programs rather than being sentenced to custody. Authorities say she was never sentenced to jail time in the cases reviewed by the Times, and she was sent to treatment on at least three occasions.
The records reflect the broader use of diversion and probation in drug cases after Proposition 47, the 2014 ballot measure that changed simple possession of controlled substances from felonies to misdemeanors. Legal experts say the goal was to push people into treatment while reducing pressure on California prisons.
Probation violations, relapse and another round of diversion
Rios’ case moved through the courts several times over the years. In 2016, she was charged with possessing Xanax without a prescription and methamphetamine. The Xanax count was dismissed, and she pleaded guilty to meth possession. A judge placed her on probation, ordered random drug tests and referred her to treatment.
Less than a year later, she was accused of violating probation but was given another chance and sent back to treatment. Court records show additional probation violations in 2018 and 2019, when she was placed on conditional revocable release and warned that another problem could send her to jail.
By 2022, she was again facing misdemeanor drug charges, including being under the influence, possession of heroin and alprazolam, and possession of an injection device. She was also cited for driving with a suspended or revoked license. A judge granted four months of diversion, she completed Narcotics Anonymous, and the drug charges were dismissed.
Friends and family described a recent effort to stay clean
People close to Rios said she had recently been working to stay sober. Her friend Lanise Ward said the two met for lunch about a month ago and that Rios told her she had been attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings. Ward said it was the longest stretch of sobriety Rios had managed since she started using drugs as a teenager.
Ward said Rios told her she began using drugs at 14 and struggled with heroin addiction, with repeated attempts at rehab over the years. Ward added that if Rios relapsed, she likely felt overwhelming shame. “I think she was disappointed in herself for getting high again,” Ward said, “and I think she was trying to just end it all.”
Rios’ mother, Cindy Rios, declined to comment when reached by phone on Thursday. In comments to The Associated Press earlier this week, she said she was sorry for the families involved and called the crash deeply disturbing.
Why prosecutors say the case supports murder charges
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said prosecutors believe the facts support murder charges because the crash was preventable. He said Rios did not have to drive while impaired, cross into oncoming lanes, run the red light and slam into the Metro bus at full speed.
Legal experts say second-degree murder can be proven through implied malice, meaning a defendant knowingly engaged in conduct that posed an obvious danger to human life. Former Orange County homicide prosecutor Matt Murphy said a jury can find that kind of “wanton and malignant heart” when someone acts with obvious disregard for safety.
Rios has not yet entered a plea and could not be reached for comment. If she is convicted, Hochman said she faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Prosecutors are also examining whether any prior warnings or traffic-stop records could help show she understood the risks of her conduct.