S.U.V. Driver Charged With Murder in Los Angeles Bus Crash

The driver of an S.U.V.that slammed into a Los Angeles bus on Tuesday evening, killing two people and injuring five others, has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder, prosecutors said Thursday.The driver, Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, was “impaired by drugs” when she blasted through a red light into opposing traffic and broadsided the bus, the district attorney of Los Angeles County, Nathan J.

Hochman, said at a news conference on Thursday.In addition to murder, Ms.Rios has also been charged with driving under the influence and reckless driving, Mr.

Hochman said.She faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.It was not immediately clear if Ms.

Rios had legal representation.Mr.Hochman said that at around 5 p.m.

on Tuesday in Chatsworth, in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, Ms.Rios was driving a Ford Expedition “well beyond the speed limit” before she plunged into the metro bus.

The collision killed two passengers, Daniel Castillo, 46, and Gage Weida, 31.Another five passengers were injured, two of them critically, Mr.

Hochman said, noting that the crash was so severe that two people had been thrown from the bus upon impact.Stephanie Wiggins, the chief executive of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said at the news conference that the bus driver was among those injured.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe....