Lawyer in Cottonwood school bus crash wants change of venue

Rescuing victims
The school bus crash near Cottonwood, Minn. in February killed four students.
Photo courtesy of Marshall Indpendent

(AP) - The lawyer representing the woman charged in the deaths of four children in a school bus crash wants his client's trial moved to a different city.

Lyon County District Court officials confirmed Tuesday that attorney Manuel Guerrero filed notice on behalf of Olga Marina Franco del Cid.

Franco is charged with four counts of criminal vehicular homicide following the Feb. 19 bus crash in southwestern Minnesota.

The notice says Guerrero will make a motion for a change of venue at a court hearing Thursday in Marshall. Authorities say Franco was driving a van that failed to stop at an intersection, hitting a school bus carrying students from Lakeview School in Cottonwood.

Franco denies she was the driver of the van, saying her boyfriend was at fault. He has not been found.

---

Information from: Independent, http://www.marshallindependent.com

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)