Minn. officials identify driver
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The van driver who authorities said gave them a fake name following a fatal bus crash has been identified as a 24-year-old woman from Guatemala, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said Monday.
Olga Marina Franco was the woman who allegedly ran a stop sign, hitting a bus in a crash that killed four children near the southwestern Minnesota town of Cottonwood, authorities said. Franco had told authorities she was 23-year-old Alianiss Nunez Morales and that she was from Mexico.
Lyon County Attorney Richard Maes on Friday charged the woman with four counts of criminal vehicular homicide, driving without a license and a stop sign violation.
ICE has filed paperwork to keep Franco in custody after the criminal case is resolved, saying it has developed probable cause that she is an illegal immigrant. Franco's fingerprints didn't show up in its database, indicating she had no prior contact with U.S. immigration authorities, the agency said in a written statement.
Minn. looks on as vote is vetoed
ST. PAUL (AP) - The Minnesota Legislature took aim Monday at Gov. Tim Pawlenty's veto of a $6.6 billion transportation bill by putting it to an override vote.
The House debate on a possible override began just after 1 p.m.
"We've reached a point where it is impossible to plug the holes," Rep. Bernie Lieder, DFL-Crookston, said at the outset. "If we don't pass this bill now it's going to be a long dry spell before we pass something."
The Republican governor struck down the bill within hours of its passage last week because he opposed increases in the gas tax, sales tax and car registration fees. The gas tax would go up for the first time since 1988.
Posted in State-and-regional on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 7:00 pm Updated: 2:20 pm.
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