Criminal charges were expected to be filed today against a woman accused of slamming her SUV into a Metro bus in Chatsworth, killing two people and injuring six others — in a collision that was later the scene of a deadly TV news helicopter crash.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman was scheduled to discuss the case against 36-year-old Bailee Rios during a Thursday afternoon news conference along with Los Angeles Police Department officials and Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggans.
Rios, of Simi Valley, had been tentatively scheduled to appear in court Thursday in San Fernando, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department jail records. Reports from the courthouse, however, indicated that the appearance would not occur until Friday.
Rios was allegedly driving a gray 2004 Ford Expedition south in the northbound lanes of De Soto Avenue just after 5 p.m. Tuesday when she ran a red light and nearly collided with an eastbound vehicle before hitting the side of the Metro Line 166 bus in the 20900 block of Nordhoff Street, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
“The impact fully ejected one passenger from the bus and partially ejected a second,” according to an LAPD statement. “Debris from the collision also damaged a blue 2024 Honda CR-V that was stopped, facing northbound, on De Soto Avenue at Nordhoff Street.” Two people were pronounced dead at the scene and one suffered serious injuries, police said.
“The other passengers transported to local hospitals sustained non- life-threatening injuries,” police said, adding that a total of six patients were transported. Rios was arrested Tuesday night by investigators with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Valley Traffic Division and booked on suspicion of murder with bail set at $4.03 million, according to police and jail records.
Rios was among those injured in the collision and taken to a hospital, but the extent of her injuries was unclear. It was also unclear if those injuries contributed to the delay in her planned court appearance. The county medical examiner on Wednesday identified the victims who
died in the crash as Daniel Castillo, 46, and Gage Weida, 31. Castillo died on the bus, while Weida died on the street nearby, having apparently been thrown from the bus during the collision.
Video from the scene showed Los Angeles Fire Department crews tending to multiple patients, and frantically working to free a woman who was trapped inside the bus. She was eventually freed and quickly loaded into an ambulance, having suffered what crews on scene described as “crushing” injuries.
An NBC4 helicopter crew that was reporting on the fatal bus collision crashed just blocks away shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday, killing three people, including the reporter and the pilot on board the helicopter and one person on the ground, and injuring two others.
A community vigil to honor the lives of all five victims killed in both the Metro bus crash and the helicopter crash will be held from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday at St. John Eudes Church in Chatsworth, eight blocks from where the helicopter hit the ground. Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, whose Third District includes Chatsworth, said she was working with local authorities to understand what happened.
“I’m heartbroken by the devastating crash in Chatsworth. My thoughts are first and foremost with those who lost their lives, their families and loved ones, and everyone who was injured,” she said.
“My office is in close contact with local authorities and Metro as we work to understand what happened and ensure those affected have the support they need. Thank you to the first responders who rushed to the scene and are caring for those in need.” Weida’s father told various media outlets that his son was on his way to work when the crash occurred. He said family members had been planning to come to the Southland this weekend to celebrate Weida’s upcoming birthday, but now they will be coming to make funeral arrangements.
“His mom, Rachael, and I, along with his brothers, sister, and entire family, along with his longtime girlfriend Autumn, are still processing the loss,” Jeffrey Weida told ABC7. “Gage will be missed by many from California to his hometowns with family and friends in Iowa, Tennessee and beyond. Our thoughts and prayers truly go out to all of the families involved. Tragic
losses on so many fronts. We appreciate the first responders and all that were there assisting at his passing.”
Castillo was a father of four. His youngest daughter said the family is “devastatingly heartbroken by the loss of our beloved dad.”
On a GoFundMe page she created to assist the family, Johaunna Castillo wrote that her father was “truly an amazing person who had a way of bringing laughter and light into every room he walked into.”
“His presence made the people around him feel loved, welcomed, and cared for,” she wrote. “He was an incredibly loving dad, son, brother, cousin, and friend. He was also the biggest Dodgers, Cowboys, and Lakers fan. The teams were always a huge part of who he was, and we will always think of him whenever we watch a game or hear anything about them.
“Things like him cooking at family gatherings and always making sure everybody ate, playing poker, and always spending time with family are just some of the things that made him who he was. My Dad would’ve given the shirt off his back to anyone who needed it, and I believe that love will continue to shine through everybody he knew. He was selfless and put others first. His character was upstanding, and his love for his family was unquestionable. Above all, he was deeply loved, and he knew just how much he meant to all of us.”
