Continued: Six jurors chosen for Cottonwood bus crash trial in Willmar

WILLMAR, MINN. -- A teacher, a retiree and a mother of six were among the first six jurors seated Monday in Kandiyohi County to hear evidence in the Cottonwood school bus crash case.

Defendant Olga Franco, 24, is accused of driving a van into the bus full of children in February, killing four students and injuring more than a dozen others.

A dozen potential jurors were questioned Monday in a process that began more smoothly than some legal observers had anticipated. Most jurors, under individual questioning from the judge and attorneys, said they could set aside information they'd heard about the crash and their feelings about illegal immigrants so that they could fairly judge the case.

Jury selection is scheduled to resume today, with opening statements anticipated later this week. The court will seat 12 jurors and two or three alternates.

A pool of 100 potential jurors filled out written questionnaires before Monday, and 25 were dismissed based on their answers. The questionnaires have not been released. The six jurors seated so far are four women and two men.

The highly publicized case against Franco, who was in the country illegally from Guatemala, has raised debate about immigration policy and issues of race and language.

Judge David W. Peterson agreed to move the trial to Willmar from Marshall to ensure a fair jury, but the defense wanted the case moved to the Twin Cities. Willmar and surrounding Kandiyohi County have been the site of periodic racial tensions.

After initial questions from Peterson on Monday about pretrial publicity, attorneys questioned each potential juror at length, touching on subjects such as experience with the legal system, hobbies and television shows such as "CSI."

Franco is charged with four counts of criminal vehicular homicide, 17 counts of criminal vehicular injury, driving without a license, running a stop sign and giving authorities a false name and birth date.

Authorities say that in the minutes after the accident they found Franco alone in the van and removed her from the vehicle. The defense claims that her boyfriend, Francisco Sangabriel-Mendoza, was actually behind the wheel but fled the scene because he, too, was in the country illegally. He has not been seen since.

Franco's attorney, Manuel Guerrero, questioned most potential jurors on whether they'd ever been accused of something they didn't do and whether they could withstand pressure from the community if they found Franco not guilty. He also asked most whether Franco's immigration status should matter.

Lyon County Attorney Rick Maes, the prosecutor in the case, questioned "CSI" watchers about whether they thought investigative techniques were as simple as they looked on TV.

He also asked parents whether their children ever blamed each other for things while growing up.

One potential juror was dismissed after she said she thought authorities should find Franco's boyfriend before putting Franco on trial. Another potential juror was dismissed after he said he would give more credibility to police than to others testifying.

Franco, wearing a gray business suit, tearfully hugged a woman at the start of the proceedings. As the day unfolded, she sat quietly next to her attorneys and listened, through headphones, to an interpreter.

Pam Louwagie • 612-673-7102

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