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LA Crash Kills 2. Then the News Helicopter Covering It Falls From the Sky
A deadly Los Angeles bus crash had already killed two people when a second tragedy unfolded just blocks away. A news helicopter covering the first crash suddenly lost altitude and plunged from the sky, killing a reporter, her pilot and a man on the ground.
Eliana Moreno and George Marciniw.via Facebook
It was shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday when 36-year-old Bailee Lynn Rios was allegedly driving a Ford Expedition the wrong way along De Soto Avenue in Chatsworth.
According to Los Angeles police, Rios ran a red light and narrowly avoided another vehicle before smashing into a Metro Line 166 bus at Nordhoff Street.
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The impact was devastating.
One passenger was thrown completely from the bus while another was partially ejected. Emergency crews rushed to the wreckage as multiple people were taken to hospitals.
Two passengers, 46-year-old Daniel Castillo and 31-year-old Gage Weida, died.
Six others were injured.
Then, roughly two hours later, another emergency unfolded.
An NBC4 and Telemundo 52 news helicopter was hovering over the area, broadcasting aerial footage of the deadly bus crash.
Reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw were aboard the Eurocopter AS350 B2.
They were doing what news helicopters do every day: flying over a breaking story so viewers could see what was happening below.
Then something suddenly went wrong.
The helicopter began losing altitude.
The final broadcast footage has become one of the most important pieces of evidence in the investigation. Investigators say the recording captures a sound consistent with the engine winding down, followed by a warning horn.
Moreno can be heard reacting with a quiet “uh oh.”
Seconds later, she asks the pilot, “You can’t pull up?”
The helicopter continued descending.
At around 7 p.m., it crashed into a commercial area near Mason Avenue, striking storage containers and erupting into flames.
Moreno and Marciniw were killed.
So was 29-year-old Edy Gutierrez Mejia, who was on the ground when the helicopter came down.
Two other people were hospitalized.
More than 70 firefighters rushed to the scene as crews battled the resulting fire.
For NBC4, the story became almost impossible to comprehend.
The station had been covering a deadly crash.
Then its own journalists became victims of another one.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are now examining the helicopter's wreckage, maintenance records, weather conditions, security footage and the crew's training.
The cockpit recording could prove crucial.
Investigators have focused on the apparent loss of engine power and a possible low-rotor-speed warning, but the cause of the helicopter crash has not been officially determined.
Meanwhile, the first crash has also become a criminal case.
On Thursday, Los Angeles County prosecutors charged Rios with two counts of second-degree murder, along with DUI causing injury and reckless-driving charges.
Prosecutors allege she was under the influence of drugs when she drove at high speed into opposing traffic. Narcotics were reportedly found in her SUV.
She remains in custody on more than $4 million bail and is scheduled to appear in court Friday.
But one question now hangs over the entire tragedy.
Was the helicopter crash simply a terrible mechanical failure that happened while journalists were covering another disaster?
Or will the investigation uncover something more?
For now, investigators are still searching for that answer.
What began Tuesday evening as one deadly traffic collision ended with five people dead across two separate crashes, including two journalists who were killed while documenting the first tragedy.
And the final seconds recorded by their own helicopter may ultimately tell investigators why the second disaster happened.
Editor’s Note: Los Angeles authorities have charged Bailee Lynn Rios in connection with the Metro bus crash, but the helicopter crash remains under federal investigation. The NTSB has not yet announced an official cause. The cockpit audio and broadcast footage are being examined as key evidence. The two incidents are therefore being treated as separate investigations unless investigators establish a connection.
