Driver who slammed into LA bus before news helicopter crash to face murder charges, prosecutor says

18 Sep 2026 • 5:28 AM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

Driver who slammed into LA bus before news helicopter crash to face murder charges, prosecutor says

The driver who slammed her SUV into a Los Angeles bus, killing two people, will face murder charges, a prosecutor said Thursday.

Bailee Lynn Rios was speeding and impaired when she drove her 2004 Ford Expedition the wrong way down a busy avenue, running a red light and striking a vehicle before plowing into a city bus, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman told a news conference. She faces two charges of second-degree murder in the deaths of the two people on the bus.

The collision gave way to a second deadly incident when a news helicopter covering it crashed, killing both people on board and a third on the ground.

Rios was being held on $4.1 million bail and was expected to be arraigned Friday, he said.

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