Feb 26, 2008 6:25 pm US/Central
Van Driver's Boyfriend Pulled Over Earlier In Van
COTTONWOOD, Minn. (AP) ―
The woman charged with causing the fatal school bus crash in southwestern Minnesota was pulled over by police a month before the accident on the same highway, and in what appears to have been the same minivan.
Her boyfriend, who was driving the van at the time, was ticketed for driving without a license, according to a Minnesota Public Radio report.
Early on Jan. 16, 2008, a woman who identified herself as Alianiss Morales was riding in the minivan on a stretch of Highway 23, about 40 miles from the spot of last week's fatal crash that killed four students from Lakeview Public School. A Kandiyohi County deputy pulled over the Plymouth Voyager after noting the license plate wasn't easily visible.
The driver, Samuel Rivera Melendez, had a learner's permit but not a license. His girlfriend told the officer she had no state ID card or driver's license. Melendez would later pay $187 in fines.
The couple told the deputy there were returning home to Willmar from Cottonwood, where they worked. It was about 2:30 a.m.
The woman has since been identified as Olga Marina Franco, a 24-year-old from Guatemala who was living in the town of Minneota. She has been charged with four counts of criminal vehicular homicide, as well as running a stop sign and driving without a license.
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