{"id":898364,"date":"2026-09-16T21:20:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T21:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/898364\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T21:20:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T21:20:12","slug":"l-a-driver-arrested-on-murder-charges-after-crashing-suv-into-bus-leading-to-fatal-helicopter-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/898364\/","title":{"rendered":"L.A. driver arrested on murder charges after crashing SUV into bus, leading to fatal helicopter crash"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A motorist was arrested on murder charges after authorities say she slammed her SUV into a city bus in Los Angeles, killing at least two people in that incident and injuring six others in a prelude to a second deadly tragedy: the fiery crash of a TV news helicopter that was covering the collision.<\/p>\n

Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, of Simi Valley, was arrested Monday night and is being held at a Los Angeles jail with bail set at $4 million US, police said. The case is being forwarded to the district attorney’s office, which will decide whether to file the charges in court or pursue different ones. <\/p>\n

Information on a lawyer who could speak on her behalf was not immediately available. <\/p>\n

The helicopter, which was used by NBC and Telemundo, crashed about two hours after police say Rios drove her 2004 Ford Expedition the wrong way down a busy avenue, ran a red light and struck a vehicle before hitting the bus. One passenger was fully ejected from the bus and another was partially ejected, police said.<\/p>\n

\"FlowersFlowers are placed at the scene of the news helicopter crash in L.A. Wednesday. (Ethan Swope\/The Associated Press)News crew killed<\/p>\n

Colleen Williams, an NBC4 Los Angeles anchor, confirmed during live broadcasts that two people on board the chopper were killed when the helicopter went down. At least one other person was killed on the ground, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department said.<\/p>\n

“We are going to take a couple of minutes to think about that, process it,” Williams said, her voice shaking with emotion. Moments later the coverage cut off.<\/p>\n

Williams and the station’s website identified those killed aboard the helicopter as Eliana Moreno, a familiar voice for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 during the station’s aerial coverage, and pilot George Marciniw. Both were employees of Angel City Air, which operated the chopper.<\/p>\n

\"InThis still image provided by KABC-TV shows the scene of the helicopter crash. (KABC-TV\/The Associated Press)<\/p>\n

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the helicopter crash and said Wednesday that video from around the crash scene and from on board will be crucial parts of its work. <\/p>\n

“The video that was actually taken while the reporter was doing a live coverage,” NTSB investigator Fabian Salazar told reporters at a briefing. “That video is probably the most important evidence that we have discovered so far.” <\/p>\n

Salazar said sounds heard on that video were consistent with the helicopter’s engine changing speed, as well as what he said were likely advisory tones for the pilot.<\/p>\n

Moreno, born in Orange County, joined the Angel City Air helicopter team in 2010, the same year she earned a broadcast journalism and political science degree from Chapman University. She reported for several Southern California news outlets and began flying with Marciniw in 2023, the NBC4 website said.<\/p>\n

Marciniw grew up in Southern California and graduated from Burbank High School in 1974.<\/p>\n

“Losing five Angelenos is very painful,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said. “And I know this community of Chatsworth, hit hard, will be grieving for some time.”<\/p>\n

At least four cars and two storage containers on the ground burned after the helicopter caught fire, which was quickly put out, according to officials. <\/p>\n

“The helicopter itself, it’s pretty well destroyed,” fire spokesperson Capt. Branden Silverman said.<\/p>\n

Two people were brought to a hospital, said Rico A. Gross, a fire department battalion chief. Their conditions were not immediately released.<\/p>\n

NBC4 and Telemundo 52 Los Angeles said in a statement they “are deeply saddened” and extended “heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives.”<\/p>\n

California Gov. Gavin Newsom thanked the emergency crews responding to both crashes and said in a post on X that “our hearts are with the victims and families.”<\/p>\n

\"PeopleThe helicopter crashed in the same Los Angeles neighbourhood where news crews were covering a bus crash that killed two people and injured six. (Ronaldo Bolanos \/Los Angeles Times\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration said personnel will arrive Wednesday to begin an investigation into the cause of the helicopter crash. <\/p>\n

There have been at least eight fatal crashes involving news helicopters in the U.S. since 2000, killing 16 people, according to a review of federal accident records and news accounts. <\/p>\n

Some have occurred during live broadcasts, including a midair collision of helicopters in Phoenix in 2007, and a deadly accident involving a Seattle news helicopter in 2000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":898365,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-898364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=898364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898364\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/898365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=898364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=898364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=898364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}