A 36-year-old woman has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder after a high-speed crash involving a Metro bus in Chatsworth left two passengers dead and six people injured.
Bailee Lynn Rios, of Simi Valley, is accused of driving a 2004 Ford Expedition on the wrong side of De Soto Avenue before running a red light at Nordhoff Street at about 5pm on Tuesday, September 15.
Prosecutors allege that the SUV struck a Metro Line 166 bus at high speed, causing extensive damage and throwing passengers from the vehicle. Two of those on board, Daniel Castillo, 46, and Gage Weida, 31, died in the collision.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said eight people were treated as patients at the scene, including the two fatalities. Several others were taken to hospital, with some reported to have suffered critical injuries.
Rios has also been charged with driving under the influence of a drug causing injury and reckless driving. The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said narcotics were found inside the SUV, although the type of substance has not been disclosed.
She was freed from the wreckage by firefighters and taken to hospital before being arrested by detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Valley Traffic Division. Prosecutors have asked for bail to be set at $4.1 million.
Chatsworth Metro bus crash charges
Los Angeles County district attorney Nathan Hochman said Rios had allegedly been driving while impaired, on the wrong side of the road and above the speed limit when she entered the junction against a red light.
“The defendant Bailee Lynn Rios allegedly made the choice to drive while impaired on the wrong side of the road through a red light well above the speed limit, which put the lives of those in her path in danger,” he said.
Metro chief executive Stephanie Wiggins said the crash had affected the victims’ families and everyone travelling on the bus, and expressed gratitude to the emergency crews and investigators involved.
Rios was due to appear at San Fernando Courthouse on Friday, September 18. If convicted on all charges, she could receive a life sentence with the possibility of parole.
The charges are allegations and Rios is presumed innocent unless and until she is found guilty in court.
