Updated

Updated · KABC-TV · Sep 17

Bailee Rios Charged With 2nd-Degree Murder in Crash That Killed 2 as $4.03 Million Bail Holds

Updated

Updated · KABC-TV · Sep 17

Bailee Rios Charged With 2nd-Degree Murder in Crash That Killed 2 as $4.03 Million Bail Holds

Q: Which mysterious 'hard drugs' fueled a wrong-way rampage that ended in two brutal murders and a shattered community?

The specific drugs have not been publicly identified. Los Angeles County prosecutors said Bailee Rios had drugs in her system and narcotics in her SUV, but District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the substances are still being tested and described them only as “hard drugs.” Some reporting has cited law-enforcement sources saying investigators recovered suspected methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia from Rios’s belongings. But that has not been confirmed in official charging statements, and prosecutors have emphasized that final chemical and toxicology results are still pending. What is established from the case record is that Rios, 36, has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder, along with DUI causing injury and reckless driving, after authorities say she drove a 2004 Ford Expedition the wrong way on De Soto Avenue in Chatsworth, ran a red light and slammed into a Metro Line 166 bus. Two people, Daniel Castillo, 46, and Gage Weida, 31, were killed, and six others were injured. So the factual answer is that the “hard drugs” remain officially unidentified for now. The strongest unconfirmed indication in public reporting points to suspected methamphetamine, but authorities have not yet released lab-confirmed results naming the substances or their quantity.

3 articles · Updated · KABC-TV · Sep 17

Los Angeles prosecutors charged Bailee Rios, 36, with second-degree murder, DUI and reckless driving after authorities say her SUV hit a Metro bus in Chatsworth, killing two people and injuring six.
Hard drugs were found in Rios' system and in her car, District Attorney Nathan Hochman said, though a full chemical analysis is still underway to determine the substances and quantities.
Police say Rios drove south in northbound lanes on De Soto Avenue, ran a red light and struck the side of the Line 166 bus, ejecting one passenger and partially ejecting another.
Rios missed a Thursday court appearance because of a medical event and is expected in court Friday; she was booked Wednesday with bail set at $4.03 million and faces life in prison if convicted.
The two bus-crash victims were identified as Daniel Castillo, 46, and Gage Weida, 31; prosecutors are also awaiting a federal probe into the nearby NBC4 helicopter crash that killed three more people.