Bailee Rios, 36, is facing murder charges after her SUV crashed into a Los Angeles Metro bus in Chatsworth, killing two people and injuring several others.
Authorities said drugs were found in her vehicle and that she had drugs in her system at the time of the crash.
A total of six patients were transported to hospitals, with the rest sustaining non-life-threatening injuries. Debris from the collision also damaged a blue 2024 Honda CR-V that was stopped, facing northbound, on De Soto Avenue at Nordhoff Street.
The Los Angeles Police Department said, “The impact fully ejected one passenger from the bus and partially ejected a second. Two people were pronounced dead at the scene and one suffered serious injuries, police said.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced the charges against Rios during a news conference on Thursday, as per ABC7 . Bailee Lynn Rio, 36, is from Simi Valley. Cited by ABC7, Rios was convicted of misdemeanor drug possession in 2016 after pleading guilty, according to Ventura County court records. Records show she was charged with the same offense again in 2022, but those charges were dismissed. However, she was convicted in that same 2022 case of driving with a suspended license. She was booked on Wednesday with bail set at $4.03 million.
She has been charged with second-degree murder, along with driving under the influence of a drug causing injury, and reckless driving. If convicted as charged, she faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole. Rios herself was injured in the collision and treated at a hospital before being taken into custody.
Rios was scheduled to appear in court Thursday morning but could not attend due to a medical event, and is expected to appear for arraignment Friday.
He did not specify the type of narcotics but described them as “hard drugs,” adding that a full chemical evaluation is underway. Separately, sources with knowledge of the investigation told NY Post that cops discovered suspected methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in her vehicle.
