Rios is charged with second-degree murder in the bus deaths. The helicopter crash is a different file.

In California, a DUI death can be charged as second-degree murder without a plan to kill. That is implied-malice / Watson murder: the State says the driver knew the risk and did it anyway. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced Thursday that Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, faces two counts of second-degree murder for the Chatsworth Metro crash that killed Gage Weida, 31, and Daniel Castillo, 46. She is also charged with driving under the influence of a drug and reckless driving. A later NBC helicopter crash killed three more people. Those deaths are a separate tragedy. They are not on this complaint as of this writing.

As of Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, prosecutors said Rios drove a Ford Expedition the wrong way on De Soto, well over the limit, through a red light, and into a Line 166 bus. Hochman said the evidence will show she was impaired and had narcotics in the car. That is a charging theory. Toxicology and a jury still have to do the work. Bail was set around $4 million. She missed Thursday’s appearance as a medical miss-out and was expected Friday. Missing court is not a plea.

Reporter Eliana Moreno, pilot George Marciniw, and pedestrian Edy Gutierrez Mejia died when the news ship went down while covering the wreck. Unless a prosecutor files those counts against Rios, they are not hers. Implied malice still has to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. A charge is not a conviction.

The Los Angeles Times reported Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, that Rios had multiple prior drug-related arrests in Ventura County and Simi Valley, with little or no jail time and repeated turns through probation and treatment. Prior arrests are not convictions. They are not proof of the Chatsworth murder, DUI, or reckless-driving counts. A history of arrests can be something the State later wants a jury to hear. It is not a finding on this complaint. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.