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.

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.’ 

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?’

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. 

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.’

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.’

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. 

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.’ 

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. 

A Sandbanks property developer on trial over claims he strangled his estranged wife at their £3million home has told a court he was acting in self-defence, calling her an “Amazonian” woman with kickboxing experience.

Paul Pressland, 63, is accused of assaulting Gemma Martin, 52, during an argument about their divorce in December 2024, after the couple had hosted her parents for a Sunday roast.

Giving evidence to the jury, Pressland said he could not recall putting his hands near Ms Martin’s neck. He said he had touched her chest in an attempt to defuse the confrontation.

Pressland denies a charge of intentional strangulation and claimed the injury to Ms Martin’s neck may have resulted from a wetsuit worn during a charity sea swim the day before.

At Salisbury Crown Court, he insisted that he had been the victim rather than the aggressor. He described Ms Martin as “Amazonian”, telling jurors she was fit, strong and involved in boxing and personal training.

Prosecutor Harriet Summerhayes asked Pressland whether he was maintaining that he had not caused the mark found on Ms Martin’s neck.

He replied: “No I didn’t. She had been swimming in the sea with a wetsuit with a neck round it. It’s a very faint red mark.

“I didn’t strangle my wife. She chose three times to come back in to continue the argument.”

Ms Summerhayes also put it to him that he had punched Ms Martin in the back of her ribs.

Pressland said: “I don’t believe I have punched anybody in my life, certainly not a woman, and I didn’t punch Gemma that night.”

Ms Summerhayes said: ‘You were the aggressor weren’t you?’

Pressland said: ‘I was not, I was the victim. I didn’t use excessive force, I did what I felt was necessary to placate the situation and defend myself against somebody who was attacking me.

‘Gemma has been described as Amazonian by friends. She’s very fit, she works out, she does boxing and PT. I was defending myself.’

The court previously heard that on the day of the alleged strangulation Pressland confronted Ms Martin because he had heard from a friend that she was filing for divorce. 

It led to a heated argument that saw Ms Martin throw her Ugg slippers at her husband, who she claimed had been unfaithful in their marriage.

Prosecutors say the developer reacted by pinning her against the door of their en suite and strangling her, making her fear for her life.

Pressland is alleged to have placed his hands around her throat and squeezed until her eyes ‘bulged’ before she dropped to the floor.

The court heard Pressland went to Bryanston, a private boarding school in Dorset, before becoming a chartered surveyor and working in London’s Mayfair district. 

By the age of 30 he had his own property business and now runs multiple companies.

He bought the £3million Sandbanks home in 2017 but did not move in full-time until 2022 when he and Ms Martin got engaged. This was because he had another house where he stayed when he was with his four children from a previous relationship.

The couple, who had been together for 10 years but only married for two, lived in the Sandbanks home with Ms Martin’s two sons from a previous relationship.

Pressland said he had an ‘inkling’ she had spoken to lawyers but only found out she had actually filed for divorce from an office ‘gossip’ a few days before the incident. 

He claims she told him ‘there’s two ways to deal with this – the easy way or the expensive hard way’, meaning court hearings and lawyers. 

Pressland’s defence barrister, Graham Gilbert, presented Ms Martin with a handwritten list with the initials GP (Gemma Pressland) at the top.

It included a £1million house, £60,000 annual income, vehicles for her and her children and half the net assets of a company she was listed as a director of.

Mr Gilbert asked her: ‘Is this a wish list of what you wanted out of the divorce?’

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Ms Martin replied: ‘We discussed between the two of us, how amicably we could split, we sat down together and wrote this down.

‘I did see a solicitor because I didn’t trust he would agree to this, he verbally agreed.’

Mr Gilbert said Ms Martin also made a list of her husband’s businesses and assets, including properties owned by other family members and gifts to his own children.

He asked if she was told by solicitors that if parties made allegations of domestic violence they could qualify for legal aid. She replied ‘no’.  

Pressland told the jury the roast dinner was a ‘pseudo Christmas’ to celebrate early with Ms Martin’s parents before they went to Thailand for three months.

He said he had opened a bottle of red wine to pour some in the gravy for the roast beef and had ‘a glass or two’ while cooking.

He ‘wasn’t keeping tabs’ of who drank what but said five bottles of wine were drunk between six people over the course of about five hours.

After her parents left and her sons had gone to their rooms, he and Ms Martin sat at the kitchen table and had a ‘heated’ conversation. Pressland said his wife was ‘aggressive’ and belittling his relationship with his children.

Mr Gilbert asked if ‘aspersions as to behaviour during the marriage were made on both sides’ and Pressland said yes.

He said as the conversation was ‘going in circles’ he decided to go to bed in the spare room and went upstairs alone. 

He said Ms Martin later burst in swearing and calling him names before throwing her Ugg slippers at him, with one hitting him in the face and the other on his shoulder.

Pressland told the jury he returned the Ugg slippers to their bedroom and returned to the spare room before she returned and continued to attack him.

He said: ‘She struck me with her fists, then went out and came back and did it again. She grabbed my hair, being vain I didn’t want my hair wrenched out so I went with the flow, if she pulled I went with it.

‘I was being pulled around by my hair, backwards and forwards towards the master bedroom. I said ‘you’re hurting me, can you let go’. I tried to stop the pressure on my head by grabbing her arm to pull her towards me to stop the pull.’

He claimed she hit her back on the door handle, with the impact causing a bruise and other injuries she later asked her son to take pictures of. 

He said injuries were also sustained in the ‘tussle’ when they both fell on the floor and he grabbed her by the shoulders and chest in an attempt to calm her down.

Ms Martin, an interior designer, has told the court that Pressland pushed her, grabbed her arms and punched her in the back of her ribs. 

She said he then pinned her against the wall and squeezed her throat hard so that she couldn’t breathe and her eyes ‘bulged’, before she dropped to the floor. 

Ms Martin said she screamed and began hyperventilating when he let go, with her son Henry, 21, witnessing her ‘very fast breathing’. 

He told the court that he did not witness any violence but went running to his mother’s aid after hearing her ‘barbaric’ scream.

Henry said: ‘I came out after I heard a loud scream from my mother. It was barbaric, I have never heard a scream like it.

‘She was very fast breathing, screaming every two seconds – I have never seen a human being in that state before, it was really distressing to experience that.’

Defence counsel Mr Gilbert put it to Ms Martin’s sons that there had been no scream.  They both said that was incorrect.

Ms Martin is alleged to have initially told Pressland that she would not tell anyone about what happened as long as he granted her a divorce.

But two days later she went to play tennis with her then-19-year-old son Henry and decided to report the incident to police online.

The trial continues.

As many as 500 councillors around Britain are weighing up whether to adopt the ‘Piddington blueprint’ after an Oxfordshire village held a vote to declare independence from the UK in protest at plans to house male asylum seekers there in numbers far exceeding the local population.

Piddington residents backed the symbolic move by 285 votes to 26 after the Government revealed proposals to turn a former military base into accommodation for 1,256 male asylum seekers.

Since the Home Office unveiled the plans in June, villagers have argued that the proposed number of male migrants would outnumber Piddington’s population of 350 by almost four to one, while raising concerns about crime.

The result, announced on Wednesday morning, has no legal force. However, campaigners hope it will serve as a clear warning to Westminster.

Tim McNally, chairman of Piddington Parish Council, said the village’s campaign could prompt comparable referendums in communities elsewhere in the country.

He said: ‘We have been working in the background with other areas who feel the same as us, who feel they have not been represented and been run over roughshod.’

Speaking to The Telegraph, he added: ‘When I first published the blueprint, I had over 500 inquiries from across the UK, from parish and town councillors. The aim of our referendum is for them to go and do it themselves.’

The eight-step Piddington blueprint explains how communities can organise a local referendum, including canvassing local views, involving the parish council and forwarding the result to MPs.

Piddington, near Bicester, has been selected as one of three former military sites proposed for new asylum seeker camps. Facilities housing 350 migrants at Crowborough Training Camp in Sussex and 800 at MDP Wethersfield in Essex are already operating.

Migrants in military bases and hotels are bussed into nearby town centres, where women have complained of feeling unsafe in ‘no-go’ areas.

Locals in Colchester say that on days when asylum seekers are brought into the city from MDP Wethersfield – a former RAF base in the Essex countryside – the atmosphere can feel very different.

Women are reportedly being told to ‘cover up’, girls are allegedly being filmed on mobile phones and groups of young men have been accused of staring, making comments and intimidating locals.

Elena Sokolova, 38, told the Daily Mail: ‘The problem is, they don’t integrate in society. I am a migrant and I integrated into the British way of life.

‘The men make comments about women, they say they should be dressed more and cover up. They film the girls in the town. It’s terrible. It’s really worrying.

‘Their attitude is totally different. More efforts need to be made to get them to integrate into the British way of life. That’s what I had to do. But they have their own culture.’

Essex County Council, led by Reform, have hired private security guards to monitor migrants – with the first patrols starting this week. 

Private security guards carried out their first patrol in Essex on Monday after male migrants have left women scared to go out alone.

The Reform-led county council has hired contractors to monitor migrants on the streets of Colchester, Braintree and Chelmsford – with the first walkabouts starting this week.

Meanwhile, in Crowborough, an affluent Sussex commuter town, protesters have routinely taken to the streets with Union Jack flags and banners demonstrating against asylum seekers. 

The Government has sparked further anger over plans to extend the use of existing military sites in Crowborough, until 2030 and Wethersfield until at least 2027. 

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he understands the public’s ‘strength of feeling’ about migration after the Piddington vote – while Reform’s Nigel Farage has vowed to support any other areas in the UK that want to hold votes.

Mr McNally said the result was an ‘incredible day’, adding: ‘Yesterday was the anniversary of the Battle of Britain and for us it was the Battle for Britain. We’d been identified as Ground Zero for a whole number of issues.’

He spoke in front of a pennant reading ‘Battle for Britain 2026’ outside the village hall, alongside another marking the date of the Battle of Britain – September 15, 1940.

Addressing politicians including the Prime Minister, he added: ‘This is an example of democracy in action. This is an example of a mandate of behaviour.’

Mr McNally continued: ‘I didn’t realise what I was opening up and getting involved in. I just thought we were going to be opposing a plan. A plan that would have an impact on our village, that could turn our village upside down in a way not quite envisaged before.’

He described residents as ‘underdogs’ with a ‘plucky idea’, but said: ‘We have given an absolute message, not just to the region, not just to the country but to the world.’

The result comes as the Government’s planning application for the site remains under consideration.

The Home Office is seeking permission for the temporary use of the former Bicester Garrison, including new modular accommodation, health and welfare facilities, roads, security infrastructure and recreational areas, to accommodate up to 1,256 people.

The proposed site is now the subject of a formal consultation, with representations due by Thursday. But the proposed number of asylum seekers would be more than three times the size of Piddington’s population, which is around 350 people.

The scale of the plans prompted the campaign, with residents arguing infrastructure and the local road network are not equipped to deal with the proposed development.

Pensioner Herbert Owen, known locally as Herbie, described the referendum as the ‘Battle of Britain’ after casting his vote. 

The 76-year-old said: ‘It means everything our grandparents, our parents fought for – today is the Battle of Britain. This isn’t just about Piddington, this is about our whole country. This Government is destabilising our country.

‘Wherever they put these people, in camps, in HMOs (houses in multiple occupation), or whatever, they’re ruining people’s lives.’

Mr Owen said Piddington was a ‘wonderful little village’ and that it had changed little since he moved there 33 years ago.

The referendum follows an earlier vote in July in which 96 per cent of those who took part backed holding an independence referendum.

The date of that vote, July 4, was deliberately chosen because it is associated with the American Declaration of Independence.

Residents have since stepped up their campaign against the asylum plans.

Last week, 133 women from Piddington wrote to female MPs warning that their lives could be transformed if the plans went ahead.

The letter said ‘life as we know it will be destroyed’ if the plans succeed.

‘We will not feel safe walking our streets. We are already living in fear,’ they wrote.

More than 20 women have also reportedly signed up for self-defence classes after residents said they had been advised by police to take precautions.

Melise Witkin, 59, said: ‘This is not about being rich or poor, this is about safety. People have worked really hard throughout their lives to live in this village.

‘This is about safety.

‘We are 356 people in the village with 46 children and 1,250 men turning up is a recipe for disaster. People walk their dogs, children play, I just think it is madness.

‘This is about safety, nothing more. Even for them [the asylum seekers], along that road there is no pavement, there are no street lights. We just have to be realistic.’

The Government has stressed that the former military site would be designed to be largely self-contained to minimise its impact on the surrounding community.

A Home Office spokesman said the Government is working to ‘fairly house asylum seekers’ across the country as it closes asylum hotels.

‘As part of the process, we engage with local authorities and police forces to ensure the safety and security of those in the surrounding area,’ the spokesman added.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister said the Government was ‘working to fairly house asylum seekers across the country’.

They said theGovernment was ‘engaging with local authorities to reduce the impact on communities and we’ve saved taxpayers more than £1bn on asylum support costs since the election’.

‘The Home Office has submitted an application to obtain planning permission to use the Bicester site for asylum accommodation, but it remains the case that no final decision has been taken on the site’s future use,’ the spokesman added.

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The family of a three-year-old girl killed after being struck by a car in the driveway of her Auburn home has paid tribute to her as a “charming and beautiful” child.

Khairun Minha Quadri was hit by the vehicle at the family’s home in Auburn, in western Sydney, shortly after 2pm on Tuesday.

She was taken urgently to Westmead Hospital, but doctors were unable to save her.

Her mother, who had been bringing in washing only metres away when the collision happened, said Khairun simply loved to “play like every other kid”.

“She was very precious to us,” she told Nine.

Asked what she loved most about her daughter, the grieving mother replied: “The way she used to laugh, walk.”

Abdul Salman, a cousin of Khairun’s father, told Newswire that the toddler was a “very charming girl”.

“She was very fond of her mum. She never left her side. She’s the only girl in a family full of boys, so she was always with her mum. She was very beautiful,” he said.

CCTV captured the little girl sitting on the driveway just moments before she was struck.

The driver, 27-year-old Sandip Adhikari, appeared in Burwood Local Court on Wednesday after being charged with negligent driving occasioning death over the tragedy in Auburn less than 24 hours earlier.

Flanked by several supporters, Adhikari attempted to shield his face from cameras with a sheet of paper as he left court.

‘No questions, thanks. Of course I’m very sorry,’ he told reporters when asked if he wanted to apologise to the girl’s grieving family.

Adhikari will remain on bail until his next court appearance on October 27. He has not yet entered a plea.

His lawyer, Danny Eid, described the incident as a ‘very, very sad case’ while speaking on behalf of his client outside court.

‘He’s very, very stressed and worried about the family, worried about their welfare,’ Mr Eid said.

‘He’s asked me to relay his deep sadness to the whole family who have lost a beautiful young child.’ 

As part of his strict bail conditions, Adhikari must report to police every day and is banned from operating a motor vehicle.  

It is understood that Adhikari is not related to Khairun but lives in a granny flat at the back of the property.

Police spent much of Tuesday afternoon in the cordoned-off street as they examined the crime scene.

Forensic officers were seen closely examining and photographing a Range Rover parked in the driveway.

The girl’s heartbroken mother told reporters off-camera on Wednesday that her daughter was playing with a kitchen set when tragedy struck.

‘She used to always go to the playgrounds and we would find kids’ play things around here,’ a family friend told Sunrise.

‘She was so lovely, very cute, very pretty little girl. She was just three years old, not saying much of the world.

‘Whenever we came to visit, she was always very happy.’ 

Shocked neighbours often saw the little girl playing outside with her older brother.

‘It’s very sad because I’m a mother, so I hear the girl dying is very sad,’ one told the ABC.

The circumstances leading up to the crash remain under investigation.

Anyone with information or relevant footage is urged to contact Auburn Police or Crime Stoppers.