Full Breakdown
Fatal Wrong-Way Crash Sends Metro Bus Into a Fatal Collision
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event
In mid-September, a 36-year-old driver of a 2004 Ford Expedition entered De Soto Avenue traveling on the wrong side of the road, ran a red light at the intersection with Nordhoff Street, and T-bodied a Los Angeles Metro Line 166 bus during rush-hour traffic. The impact ejected a passenger and killed two riders—46-year-old Daniel Castillo and 31-year-old Gage Weida—at the scene. One other passenger sustained severe injuries and five more suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Police and Metro investigators recovered video from surrounding security cameras and are reviewing the SUV’s event-data recorder.
Driver Background and Prior Legal Issues
The driver, Bailee Lynn Rios, has a documented history of drug-related arrests and probation violations in Ventura County dating back to 2016. Court records show multiple misdemeanor charges for possession of heroin, methamphetamine, and the benzodiazepine alprazolam, as well as a conviction for driving with a suspended license. Rios had attended Narcotics Anonymous meetings and, according to friend Lanise Ward, had remained clean for about a year and a half before relapsing. Ward recalled, “I really thought this time she was going to do it,” — Lanise Ward and added, “I think she was disappointed in herself for getting high again, and I think she was trying to just end it all,” — Lanise Ward.
Legal Proceedings and Official Responses
Los Angeles County prosecutors filed charges of reckless driving, driving under the influence, and two counts of second-degree murder. District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the tragedy was “entirely preventable” and noted that Rios faces a potential life sentence if convicted. A hearing was postponed after Rios experienced a medical event in jail; she is expected to appear in court later in the week. Defense attorney Glen Jonas explained that, absent a formal “Watson advisement,” prosecutors often rely on prior warnings and body-camera footage to establish implied malice, stating, “Where there is no record of a court advisement, prosecutors scour prior reports and body cam footage to prove the defendant received a prior warning that her illegal conduct is in inherently dangerous to human life,” — Glen Jonas.
Verbatim Quotes
- “The tragedy of the Rios car crash was entirely preventable,” — Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman
- “If you voluntarily behave in a manner that is so obviously and inherently dangerous to human life...a jury could say you’re acting with a wanton and malignant heart,” — Matt Murphy
- “I really thought this time she was going to do it,” — Lanise Ward
- “I think she was disappointed in herself for getting high again, and I think she was trying to just end it all,” — Lanise Ward
- “Where there is no record of a court advisement, prosecutors scour prior reports and body cam footage to prove the defendant received a prior warning that her illegal conduct is in inherently dangerous to human life,” — Glen Jonas