An SUV slammed into a city bus, then the news helicopters took flight. How one tragedy led to another

Los Angeles Tragedy Leaves Five Dead After Bus Crash and Helicopter Fall

Earthguardiansonline.com – A deadly chain of events in Chatsworth turned an ordinary Tuesday evening commute into two catastrophic emergencies within blocks of each other, leaving five people dead and a Los Angeles community grieving.

The first crash occurred at about 5 p.m., when a Ford Expedition struck an LA Metro bus in suburban Los Angeles. Two passengers on the bus, Gage Weida, 31, and Daniel Castillo, 46, died at the scene. Roughly two hours later, a television news helicopter covering that collision went down nearby, killing aerial photojournalist-reporter Eliana Moreno, pilot George Marciniw and tourist Edy Gutierrez Mejia, who was on the ground.

The succession of disasters forced firefighters, police officers, paramedics and journalists to shift rapidly from one devastating scene to another.

“The helicopter just crashed!”

A person in the crowd shouted those words as first responders were still dealing with the wrecked bus and SUV. Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Brandon Silverman said he turned to see a thick column of black smoke rising from a parking lot about a block east of the initial crash.

His crews had been extracting people from the twisted remains of the bus collision, where passengers had become trapped amid shattered glass and damaged metal. The helicopter crash immediately created a second fatal incident demanding the department’s attention.

“To have two incidents of that significance in that short amount of time within a few blocks of each other is definitely a unique situation for any department,”

Silverman said.

Bus Crash Under Criminal Investigation

Authorities have described the bus collision as preventable. Bailee Lynn Rios, the driver of the SUV, has been charged with second-degree murder, driving under the influence and reckless driving. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said she could face a life sentence if convicted.

Investigators say Rios was driving at a speed far above the posted limit, ran a red light and moved into oncoming traffic as she approached stopped vehicles. The SUV nearly hit another car before slamming into the eastbound bus.

“She entered into opposing traffic because she was approaching a red light where cars were stopped, and she didn’t stop,”

Hochman said.

“At full force, she plunged into that metro bus.”

Hochman said Rios was allegedly impaired by drugs and that narcotics were found in the Expedition. Her attorney has been contacted for comment.

The SUV became lodged deeply in the bus, creating a difficult rescue operation. Firefighters used hydraulic rescue equipment, including tools commonly known as the Jaws of Life, as well as reciprocating saws to reach people trapped inside the vehicles. Crews cut away part of a car door while the SUV remained embedded in the bus.

The bus driver, injured in the crash, quickly contacted the bus operating division for help, said Stephanie Wiggins, chief executive of the LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. A trapped bus passenger and Rios were removed and taken to a hospital. Paramedics pronounced Weida and Castillo dead at the crash site.

Helicopter Investigation Focuses on Descent Video

As the initial collision became a major emergency response, a helicopter operated for KNBC-TV NBC4 and KVEA-TV was providing aerial coverage. The aircraft crashed and caught fire around two hours after the bus wreck, adding a second scene of destruction to an already traumatic night.

Federal investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are examining why the helicopter fell. Video showing the aircraft during its descent is expected to be an important part of that inquiry.

Moreno, an engaged reporter and aerial photojournalist, was killed alongside Marciniw, a veteran pilot nearing retirement. Mejia, a young visitor from Guatemala who had recently arrived in Los Angeles, also died.

The two crashes did not merely disrupt traffic or draw emergency crews away from their normal duties. They changed the lives of multiple families in a matter of hours: the relatives of two bus passengers, the families of the helicopter crew members and the loved ones of a visitor who was on the ground when the aircraft came down.

Community Mourns Victims

The victims included a father of four, a Los Angeles resident approaching a birthday, a visiting tourist, a reporter preparing for marriage and a longtime pilot close to retirement. Their deaths have prompted grief across the city, among emergency workers and throughout Southern California’s broadcast-news community.

At a Thursday vigil, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass reflected on how quickly familiar routines can be interrupted by tragedy.

“My heart is with the families whose lives changed forever Tuesday night. Simply going to work, coming from work to come back to your family, you expect to see them,”

Bass said.

“And they never arrive.”

Hochman similarly emphasized that the people aboard the bus had been engaged in everyday activities when the crash occurred.

“People on that bus at about 5 p.m. were either going to work or maybe coming from work. They might be going to get a bite to eat, to see family or friends,”

he said at a Thursday news conference.

“What they did not expect is what was about to happen.”

As the criminal case involving the SUV driver proceeds and aviation investigators work to establish the cause of the helicopter crash, the people closest to the victims are left with the immediate weight of loss. The events in Chatsworth underscored how a single violent collision can ripple outward, drawing responders into an unprecedented emergency and leaving a city to mourn five lives cut short.