Arraignment Delayed For Woman Charged In Deadly Chatsworth Bus Crash

SAN FERNANDO, CA — The arraignment of a woman charged with murder for allegedly driving under the influence of drugs and at high speed before slamming her SUV into a Metro bus in Chatsworth, killing two people and injuring herself and five others, was postponed Friday until Monday.

Bailee Rios, 36, of Simi Valley, did not appear in the San Fernando courtroom Friday, although she was reported to be in the courthouse. Judge Patrick Hare found good cause to postpone the arraignment at the request of the defense.

Rios is being held in lieu of $4.1 million bail.

She is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one felony count of driving under the influence causing injury, along with a misdemeanor count of reckless driving. The charges include allegations of causing great bodily injury.

District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Thursday that Rios could face a maximum of life in prison if convicted of the charges.

He called the crash a "preventable tragedy" and said Rios "was impaired by drugs at the time."

The district attorney said narcotics were found in her SUV, but he did not specify exactly what type of drugs were involved.

"She was driving well beyond the speed limit. She entered into opposing traffic as she was approaching a red light where cars were stopped and she didn't stop. At full force she plunged into that Metro bus ...," Hochman alleged. "She chose ... to do what she did, and that choice has resulted in deadly and destructive consequences."

The criminal case was filed Thursday afternoon.

KTLA5 reported that Rios has prior convictions in Ventura County for drug possession and driving on a suspended license. Hochman said prosecutors were reviewing her prior record.

Rios was allegedly driving a gray 2004 Ford Expedition south in the northbound lanes of De Soto Avenue just after 5 p.m. Tuesday when she ran a red light and nearly collided with an eastbound vehicle before hitting the side of the Metro Line 166 bus in the 20900 block of Nordhoff Street, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

"The impact fully ejected one passenger from the bus and partially ejected a second," according to an LAPD statement. "Debris from the collision also damaged a blue 2024 Honda CR-V that was stopped, facing northbound, on De Soto Avenue at Nordhoff Street."

Two people were pronounced dead at the scene and one suffered serious injuries, police said.

"The other passengers transported to local hospitals sustained non- life-threatening injuries," police said, adding that a total of six patients were transported.

Rios was arrested Tuesday night by investigators with the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Division and booked on suspicion of murder, according to police and jail records.

Rios was among those injured in the collision and taken to a hospital, but the extent of her injuries was unclear.

The county medical examiner on Wednesday identified the victims who died in the crash as Daniel Castillo, 46, and Gage Weida, 31. Castillo died on the bus, while Weida died on the street nearby, having apparently been thrown from the bus during the collision.

The district attorney noted that Weida's parents had planned to visit him this weekend for his birthday, but will instead be "coming out for his funeral."

Hochman vowed to "hold Ms. Rios fully accountable for her actions," noting that the case is among several filed involving deadly crashes throughout the county.

Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins noted that the bus driver was among those injured in the crash, saying that "it's incredibly important to us and our million riders a day that DA Hochman swiftly is enforcing legal accountability here."

She urged the public to think of all the people aboard the next time they see a Metro bus.

"Let's watch out for them and each other," Wiggins said.

Video from the scene showed Los Angeles Fire Department crews tending to multiple patients, and frantically working to free a woman who was trapped inside the bus. She was eventually freed and quickly loaded into an ambulance, having suffered what crews on scene described as "crushing" injuries.

An NBC4 helicopter crew that was reporting on the fatal bus collision crashed just blocks away shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday, killing three people, including the reporter and the pilot on board and one person on the ground, and injuring two others.

The district attorney noted that there is a federal investigation into the helicopter crash, saying that his office will consider whether there is any "tie-in with our current prosecution" when that probe is completed.

"If there is, then we will consider the appropriate charges," Hochman said. "If there is not, then that will not lead to any further charges."

A community vigil to honor the lives of all five victims killed in both the Metro bus crash and the helicopter crash was held Thursday evening at St. John Eudes Church in Chatsworth, eight blocks from where the helicopter hit the ground.

Weida's father told various media outlets that his son was on his way to work when the crash occurred.

"His mom Rachael and I, along with his brothers, sister and entire family, along with his longtime girlfriend Autumn, are still processing the loss," Jeffrey Weida told ABC7. "Gage will be missed by many from California to his hometowns with family and friends in Iowa, Tennessee and beyond. Our thoughts and prayers truly go out to all of the families involved. Tragic losses on so many fronts. We appreciate the first responders and all that were there assisting at his passing."

Castillo was a father of four. His youngest daughter said the family is "devastatingly heartbroken by the loss of our beloved dad."

A cousin of Castillo spoke outside the courthouse Friday following the postponed arraignment.

"Danny was loved by everybody," the cousin said. "She broke our family ... she needs to come and face what she did."

On a GoFundMe page created to assist the family, Johaunna Castillo wrote that her father was "truly an amazing person who had a way of bringing laughter and light into every room he walked into."

"His presence made the people around him feel loved, welcomed, and cared for," she wrote. "He was an incredibly loving dad, son, brother, cousin, and friend. He was also the biggest Dodgers, Cowboys, and Lakers fan. The teams were always a huge part of who he was, and we will always think of him whenever we watch a game or hear anything about them.

"Things like him cooking at family gatherings and always making sure everybody ate, playing poker, and always spending time with family are just some of the things that made him who he was. My Dad would've given the shirt off his back to anyone who needed it, and I believe that that love will continue to shine through everybody he knew. He was selfless and put others first. His character was upstanding, and his love for his family was unquestionable. Above all, he was deeply loved, and he knew just how much he meant to all of us."

City News Service