A newly released video shows the driver at the center of a deadly Metro bus crash in Chatsworth in the moments immediately after the collision — footage that has quickly become a focal point of the investigation.
The driver, identified as Bailee Rios, is now charged with murder. She is scheduled to appear in court, according to ABC7 Los Angeles. The New York Times also reported that she is accused in connection with the crash that preceded a fatal Los Angeles helicopter collision.
According to coverage from KTLA and the Los Angeles Times, the case is drawing scrutiny on two fronts. The first is the video itself: what it shows Rios doing and saying in the chaotic aftermath, and how investigators may use it to reconstruct the sequence of events.
The second is her background. Court and jail records, as reported by the Los Angeles Times, show multiple prior drug-related arrests but little time actually spent behind bars — a detail raising questions about how the case was handled before the crash.
Separately, NBC Los Angeles reported on new video connected to the Chatsworth helicopter crash and what it might contribute to that investigation. Authorities have not said publicly whether the two incidents are directly linked, and no conclusions have been announced beyond the charges filed.
Rios has not been convicted, and the case remains before the courts. What the video captures, how it fits with the helicopter crash timeline, and what her record reveals about the system's earlier decisions are all still developing.