The horrifying moment an SUV smashed into an LA Metro bus, triggering a chain reaction that left five people dead, including two in a helicopter, has been captured on video.
Footage obtained exclusively by the California Post showed the moment the vehicle careened into the bus, killing two passengers.
In the video, the SUV can be seen quickly driving and colliding into the bus, sending debris everywhere.
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The doomed NBC LA helicopter began covering the crash not long after, but crashed itself two hours later.
The driver of the SUV, identified as 36-year-old Bailee Lynn Rios, has been booked in connection with the collision.
Rios allegedly smashed into the bus while driving eastbound on Nordhoff Street around 5:03 p.m. on Tuesday, embedding itself into the vehicle. Two people died in the collision: Gage Weida, 31, and Daniel Castillo, 46. The collision also injured six people, including Rios.
Authorities previously said Rios was suspected of reckless driving, running a red light, and possible DUI.
She’s been booked and is being held on $4.03 million bail, according to booking information. Investigator Harvey Freeman with the LAPD Valley Traffic Division told the California Post while at the crash site on Wednesday: “At this point we’re in the early stages of the investigation of this fatal traffic collision. We’re still gathering information. We have a lot of footwork to do in the process.”
An NBC LA helicopter was dispatched to cover the bus crash, considered breaking news at the time, and circled the site. The helicopter was among others watching emergency crews work to rescue passengers and extricate those trapped inside the bus.
Pilot George Marciniw flew the aircraft, News Chopper4, while reporter Eliana Moreno described what she saw and lined up a shot. The pair had worked together for years, tailing car chases and floating over wildfires.
But in moments, it all went wrong.
The aircraft’s live video, which investigators have referred to as critical evidence, shows what happened in the pair’s closing moments. An audible alarm is heard as Moreno says, “Uh-oh.”
“Can you… you can’t pull up?” Moreno then says as the chopper shudders, causing the camera to shake. The video cuts out as the chopper rapidly descends.
Moreno and Marciniw perished as the helicopter crashed around 1.5 miles away from the bus incident.
A pedestrian nearby, 29-year-old Edy Gutierrez Mejia, also died when the helicopter crashed near him in a business parking lot.
The crash set nearby cars ablaze, and firefighters from the Los Angeles Fire Department fought and put out the fire.
