SUV driver who slammed into LA Metro bus identified, arrested for murder

The Los Angeles Police Department has made an arrest of a driver who slammed his SUV into an L.A. Metro bus on Tuesday, September 15, 2026.

The fatal crash that took place at the intersection of Nordhoff Street and De Soti Avenue left two people dead and six injured.

The LAPD spokesperson on Wednesday morning confirmed the arrest of a woman who was driving the SUV that struck the Metro bus on Tuesday evening around 5 p.m.

The woman was later identified as 36-year-old Bailee Lynn Rios.

The LAPD arrested Rios, a Simi Valley native on suspicion of murder and her bail was set at $4 million.

As of now, the LA County District Attorney has not released details on the charges Rios is facing.

Rios, was reportedly heading southbound in the northbound lanes of De Soto Avenue in a 2004 Ford Expedition when she drove through a red light and slammed into the side of the bus.

The two people who died in the fatal Metro bus crash have also been identified.

According to the L.A. County Medical Examiner’s Office, who released the identities as 31-year-old Gage Weida and 46-year-old Daniel Castillo.

The cause of the crash has not been officially ascertained by the LAPD investigators; however, videos of a CCTV camera circulating online suggest the SUV was speeding into the intersection with no apparent attempt to brake.

The fatal crash took place just two hours before a news helicopter of NBC4 crashed nearby two commercial buildings at 9151 N Mason Avenue in Chatsworth.

That crash resulted in killing three people, including news helicopter reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw.