The driver accused of triggering a deadly Los Angeles bus crash that claimed the lives of two NBC journalists has been charged with murder.
Gage Weida, 31, and Daniel Castillo, 46, were killed after the Metro bus they were traveling on was struck by an SUV reportedly speeding through the area at about 5pm Tuesday.
In a second tragedy, an NBC News helicopter dispatched to cover the bus wreck crashed into a nearby parking lot roughly two hours later before erupting in flames.
NBC journalist Eliana Moreno, 38, and pilot George Marciniw, 70, died in the helicopter crash. A third person on the ground was also killed and has not yet been publicly identified.
Their colleague Robert Kovacik had rushed from the Metro bus crash scene, only to learn that the aircraft involved in the second fatal incident belonged to his own station.
Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, the SUV driver, was charged with murder Wednesday morning and ordered held on $4.03 million bail.
The Los Angeles Police Department said it planned to submit the case to the district attorney while its investigation into the fatal collision continued.
Witnesses said the SUV appeared to be moving at “freeway speed” when it slammed into the side of the Metro Line 166 bus.
The news helicopter had apparently been covering a fatal Metro bus crash in the area
Police said Rios was suspected of driving recklessly and running a red light. Investigators are also awaiting testing related to a possible DUI allegation.
Kovacik’s dash from one crash site to the other was broadcast on NBC 4, along with his frantic efforts to reach his colleagues.
‘Trust me, I am putting my own life in my own hands,’ he pleaded with firefighters and police blocking his path as black smoke billowed in front of him.
‘Dude, that’s my crew in there, that is my own crew.’
A police officer responded: ‘We are gonna get them evacuated. This isn’t safe.’
Kovacik was on-air covering the bus crash when his colleagues in the NBC 4 studio interrupted his report, instructing him to move towards the billowing smoke.
‘Robert, we need you to move,’ an anchor said, interrupting his report. ‘Robert, we’re going to need you to move towards that smoke and get closer to that scene immediately.
‘We’re still working to get information on exactly what happened but we’re going to ask right now, as best you can, that you and your crew move in that direction immediately.’
NBC4 reporter Robert Kovacik was at the scene when a helicopter carrying his colleagues went down in Los Angeles’s Chatsworth neighborhood Tuesday night
Eliana Moreno, 38, and pilot George Marciniw, 70, were identified as the two people on board the aircraft when it went down while covering the fatal bus collision
The broadcast cut back to the studio as Kovacik made his way to the scene.
‘We understand there may be an aircraft down. We don’t have any more specific information than that,’ anchor Colleen Williams said.
‘Robert is driving in the direction. We did see a huge plume of black smoke in the area.’
When Kovacik’s crew resumed their feed, NBC4 viewers saw the reporter begging law enforcement to let him on the scene.
‘We know it’s something bad judging from the smoke,’ Williams said.
Kovacik turned back toward the camera to resume his report, telling his colleagues that the LAPD would soon be evacuating them from the area.
Describing the scene, he shared how there was a ‘fire that is spreading.’
That’s when he spotted Fox 11 reporter Ed Laskos and asked, ‘What are you hearing?’
Fox 11 reporter Ed Laskos put his arms around Kovacik and said, ‘It’s a chopper, a media chopper’
A blaze began after the chopper crashed at the Northoff Street and DeSoto Avenue intersection
Laskos put his arms around Kovacik and said: ‘It’s a chopper, a media chopper.’
‘It’s a chopper?’ Kovacik repeated back to him.
‘Yes, it’s a media chopper,’ Laskos said.
‘Are you ok? It’s not you guys, is it?’ Kovacik questioned, as a burst of flames exploded behind him.
A female reporter ran past the cameras in tears.
Kovacik turned back to the cameras and said: ‘We don’t know where the chopper is from, we don’t know if it even is a chopper. If it’s a news chopper, we are just looking right now.’
He spoke to police and witnesses at the scene who confirmed the helicopter went down, but could not confirm which news outlet it had been affiliated with.
At this point, NBC 4 did not know that the helicopter belonged to their station.
LA Mayor Karen Bass was seen consoling Kovacik later that night when she and other elected officials spoke about the tragedy.
A person on the ground was also killed when the helicopter went down on Tuesday night
The NewsChopper4 was flying over the area between two warehouses at the intersection of Nordhoff Street and DeSoto Avenue, near where an SUV crashed into a bus earlier in the night, when it suddenly lost altitude and plunged to the ground.
Two people were killed in the bus crash, while six others were injured, some of whom were in critical condition.
The chopper appeared to have crashed next to two shipping containers and several vehicles that were parked in the area, causing a massive blaze that threatened four vehicles nearby.
Moreno, 38, was a veteran aerial reporter for NBC4 Los Angeles and Telemundo, who had been flying in news choppers since 2010 – covering police pursuits, wildfires, traffic and major local events.
She began her career in the air after graduating from Chapman University in 2010, where she studied broadcast journalism and political science.
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Moreno had worked at KCAL 9 and KCBS 2 before joining NBC and flying aboard NewsChopper4 around 2018 or 2019.
She was passionate about her role and frequently posted pictures of herself out in the field on her Instagram account Eli in the Heli.
One was captioned: ‘After working 76 hours since Sunday, I’m almost done! I can’t complain though because I have the best job in the world.’
Moreno was a veteran aerial reporter for NBC and had been flying in news choppers since 2010
The journalist and her longtime boyfriend, Robert Barrientos, 47, announced their engagement in October last year
She was due to soon marry her boyfriend Robert Barrientos, 47, after the couple announced their engagement on Facebook last October.
Moreno and Barrientos have been together for at least three years, according to posts on her public Instagram account.
Although the reporter never publicly announced the start of their relationship, she did start subtly tagging the father of two in reels with her dogs in 2023.
She made a post in May praising him for running a half-marathon with her.
Moreno, who has had ‘bad asthma’ throughout her life, completed the race in under two hours, she revealed.
‘I did something I never thought I would ever do,’ she captioned a photo of her and her partner with their race medals. ‘I surpassed everything I thought I could ever do, so let’s see what I do next!’
Marciniw, 70, was an experienced pilot who had logged more than 14,000 hours in the helicopter. He and Moreno had been flying together since 2023.
NBC4 and Telemundo said in a statement on Tuesday night: ‘We are deeply saddened to share that a helicopter providing aerial news coverage for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 was involved in a fatal accident in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening.
‘We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives.’
Although Moreno rarely publicized her romantic life online, she did make a post in May praising Barrientos for running the Hoag OC half-marathon with her
The intersection where the two fatal crashes occurred is set to be closed for ‘quite some time’
The confirmation of the deaths came after a longtime NBC 4 Los Angeles news anchor confirmed to viewers live on air that the chopper was a ‘television news helicopter.’
‘We are not in contact with our television news helicopter,’ Colleen Williams said through tears, while other reporters on the scene choked up.
‘We have lost contact with our people.’
Williams also confirmed that the news helicopter was from NBC Los Angeles, before the news station took a break to process the information.
LA Fire Department Captain Branden Silverman earlier told reporters on the scene that the helicopter is ‘pretty well destroyed.’
A friend of the two helicopter victims also told Fox Los Angeles he was ‘hurt,’ as he suggested the helicopter suffered from engine failure.
‘I’m lost for words, I don’t know what to say,’ he said, describing the pilot as experienced and noting that the NBC reporter had recently been married.
‘It’s heartbreaking to see the engine quit,’ the friend said.
The crash came as local media outlets rushed to get aerial footage of the fatal bus collision as people ran away from the scene and police cruisers sped toward the fiery explosion.
One of those killed was reportedly ejected from the bus, while the other was said to have been on board.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said her heart was with those who lost loved ones on Tuesday
Bass also embraced NBC’s Kovacik following the fatal crash
An LA Urban Search and Rescue Team was also seen extricating multiple people from the vehicle, with at least one person found stuck underneath it.
She was eventually freed and quickly loaded into an ambulance in unknown condition with what crews on the scene described as ‘crushing’ injuries.
Soon after the bus crash, images emerged showing the front half of the Ford SUV embedded in the side of the Metro bus.
At the height of the response, more than 70 fire department personnel were at scene, a spokesman said at a news conference.
The intersection where the two fatal crashes occurred will now be closed for ‘quite some time,’ she noted.
In a brief statement, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she was ‘absolutely devastated by the loss of life in Chatsworth tonight.’
‘My heart is with the families and loved ones of those we lost in the tragic bus collision and helicopter crash,’ she posted on social media.
‘I’m grateful to the city teams who responded so quickly,’ she added, as she urged the public to ‘please stay clear of the area as public safety officials remain on scene.’
A Los Angeles firefighter responding to the scene of the helicopter crash
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the helicopter crash
California Governor Gavin Newsom also shared his condolences.
‘Our hearts are with the victims and families of tonight’s devastating Metro bus and helicopter crashes in Chatsworth, and with the entire NBC4 family,’ he said.
‘Thank you to the first responders working tirelessly tonight.’
Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, added that it was ‘very sad news.’
Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the helicopter crash.