Chilling video shows accused driver's eerie moments before NBC helicopter tragedy
Warning: Graphic content, readers’ discretion advised
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: A newly obtained video offers a disturbing look at the moments after a deadly Los Angeles bus crash that set off a chain of events ending in a fatal NBC News helicopter accident on Tuesday, September 15.
The footage shows the SUV driver still inside her wrecked vehicle as witnesses try to assess her condition.
The crash killed two bus passengers and injured several others before the helicopter covering the scene went down nearby, killing three more people.
Driver appears dazed after collision
The video, recorded by a witness at the scene, shows accused woman Bailee Lynn Rios sitting in the driver’s seat of a Ford Expedition after it slammed into a Metro Line 166 bus in Chatsworth on Tuesday.
Rios appears disoriented, with blood running down from around her right eye. A man near the vehicle asks whether she can get out.
“Can you get out?” he asks. “Huh?” Rios responds, appearing dizzy.
The witness then asks whether she is alright and whether she can breathe and speak. Rios agrees.
The man then tells her that the fire department is on its way, to which she does not seem to respond clearly.
The footage also captures the force of the collision.
Metal on both the SUV and bus is badly torn, while broken glass is scattered across the crash site.
The front of the SUV was heavily damaged after prosecutors alleged that Rios drove the wrong way, ran a red light and struck the bus at high speed.
Two passengers, identified as 31-year-old Gage Weida and 46-year-old Daniel Castillo, died.
Atleast five other people were injured in the crash.
UPDATE: Driver charged in LA bus crash that preceded fatal news helicopter crash identified as Bailee Lynn Rios.
— EzeNews (@EzeBets) September 17, 2026
Officials say she was intoxicated and driving against traffic when she hit the bus.
Helicopter crash that followed killed three; NTSB investigating.
— NBC News https://t.co/CmY9LqhcIK pic.twitter.com/cYdqufcIe2
Bailee Lynn Rios charged with DUI and second-degree killings
Rios was charged Thursday with two counts of second-degree killings, driving under the influence and causing injury.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Rios was allegedly impaired when she got behind the wheel.
Authorities also reportedly found a suspected controlled substance inside her vehicle. Hochman said Rios could face life in prison if convicted.
NEW: I spoke exclusively with the uncle of Bailee Rios, the woman accused in the deadly Chatsworth Metro bus crash.
— Matthew Seedorff (@MattSeedorff) September 17, 2026
He tells me she struggled with substance abuse and says the justice system gave her “too many chances.”
2 people were killed and at least 6 injured. Then, a… pic.twitter.com/JJ5vToxHj5
Rios’ uncle spoke to Fox 11 LA and said she had struggled with substance use.
He also claimed that the justice system had given her “too many chances.”
The Metro collision was being covered by an NBC News helicopter when the aircraft crashed in a nearby area later that evening.
The helicopter crash killed reporter Eliana Moreno, pilot George Marciniw and pedestrian Edy Gutierrez Mejia. The two incidents together claimed five lives and left multiple families grieving.
