Witnesses say Franco not alone in van

By Rae Kruger
MARSHALL — Olga Franco was not alone in the van that authorities said hit the Lakeview School bus in the Feb. 19 fatal crash near Cottonwood, a federal agent said Thursday in court in Marshall.

Immigration and Customs Exchange special agent Jeremy Christenson said in a Lyon County District Court hearing on the case that ICE learned from interviews from witnesses that Franco, 24, of Minneota was not alone in the van.

When asked if Franco told him her boyfriend was driving, Christenson said he could not respond unless he could hear the audiotape of a Feb. 21 interview. Christenson said earlier in court that he had no information to believe Franco was not the driver.

Judge David Peterson ruled Thursday the Feb. 21 interview violated Franco’s constitutional rights because the interview continued after Franco received her Miranda rights information and she indicated she was not prepared to talk. And she said her aunt had told her a lawyer was coming that day or the next day.

Christenson said in response to a question from Franco’s lawyer, Manuel Guerrero, that at least one witness said the other person in the van was Franco’s boyfriend, Francisco Sangabriel-Mendoza, 29, of Minneota.

Both Franco and Sangabriel-Mendoza have been charged with federal counts of identity theft and related crimes.

It is not known where Sangabriel-Mendoza is, Guerrero said after court Thursday.

After the hearing, Guerrero said there are three witnesses who said Franco was not alone in the van.

None have said there was another driver, Guerrero said.

One witness said he took the boyfriend away from the crash scene, Guerrero said to media after Thursday’s hearing.

Franco is charged with four counts of criminal vehicular homicide in the deaths of four Lakeview students and multiple counts of criminal vehicular homicide for the injured students in the crash. Franco drove the van and did not stop at the stop sign on Lyon County Road 24 at the intersection with Minnesota Highway 23 and hit the school bus, the complaint alleges.

Franco has said she was not driving the van on Feb. 19 and said Sangabriel-Mendoza was driving, Guerrero has said multiple times in court and in subsequent statements made later.

A co-worker from Minneota drove Sangabriel-Mendoza away from the crash site and brought him to a house in Minneota, Guerrero said.

Sangabriel-Mendoza was then taken to Willmar from Minneota, Guerrero said.

The man who took the boyfriend from the scene did not witness the crash, Guerrero said. The boyfriend and the man did not talk about why the boyfriend was leaving the crash area, Guerrero said.

“... (The boyfriend) was injured. He complained about his back and pain,” Guerrero said.

Two witnesses “saw a man running away from the scene,” Guerrero said. The witnesses could not say if the man was Franco’s boyfriend, he said.

“What they saw was a person running ... on County Road 24,” Guerrero said. “They (the witnesses) came upon the accident later (after it happened).”

Guerrero said he believes the man who drove Sangabriel-Mendoza from the crash scene is still in Minnesota.

He would not provide any additional information on the other two witnesses.

Guerrero has asked the court to allow for depositions to be taken from the three witnesses.

In response to media questions after the hearing, Guerrero said he couldn’t speculate on whether or not the witnesses would leave Minnesota or the U.S. and not be available for trial.

Lyon County Attorney Rick Maes declined to comment after the hearing.

Maes has said in a prior story in the Independent his office has no reason to believe Franco was not the driver.

Maes said investigation results showing that Franco needed to be extricated from the vehicle indicate that Franco was the driver.