Emergency workers say Franco was behind wheel

The trial opens in the fatal Cottonwood school bus crash with the prosecution focused on establishing the driver of the van.

By PAM LOUWAGIE, Star Tribune

Last update: July 31, 2008 - 11:39 PM

WILLMAR, MINN. - The first emergency workers to arrive at the fatal Cottonwood school bus crash scene in February described for a jury Thursday how they found Olga Franco pinned in the driver's seat of the van that hit the bus.

Franco's right leg was stuck under the van's crumpled dashboard, her foot wedged between the gas pedal and the dashboard's center console, witnesses said in Kandiyohi County District Court.

In the trial's first day of testimony, Lyon County Attorney Rick Maes hammered at that key point -- that Franco was the driver of the van -- one that Franco's defense attorneys are trying to dispute.

Franco, a 24-year-old Guatemalan, is accused of driving the van into the bus, killing four children and injuring 17 others, including the driver of a third vehicle that became entangled in the crash. She faces charges of criminal vehicular homicide, criminal vehicular injury, driving without a license, running a stop sign and giving authorities a false name and birth date.

Her attorneys have maintained that her boyfriend, who was also in the country illegally, was driving the van and that he fled before authorities arrived.

Kelly Kimpe, one of the first emergency workers at the scene, described arriving by ambulance from Cottonwood just minutes after the Feb. 19 crash. She said she found Franco screaming behind the steering wheel.

Kimpe's husband, Joe Kimpe, had been driving in the area and happened upon the scene. He testified about how the couple tried pulling the driver's seat back to extricate Franco, but the seat wouldn't budge.

Kelly Kimpe said she gave Franco oxygen and blankets to guard against the bitter cold while they waited for rescue workers with extraction equipment.

Defense attorneys say Franco was thrown toward the driver's seat on impact. They have pointed to evidence of blood and DNA from an unidentified male found on the airbags in the van.

Prosecutor Maes told the jury in an opening statement Thursday morning that experts will testify about forensic evidence on the airbags. He indicated that more evidence was found on the passenger air bag than on the driver's. Defense attorney Manuel Guerrero reserved his opening statement until after prosecutors finish presenting evidence.

Several relatives of children on the school bus drove through severe storms to hear the testimony Thursday. The trial was moved to Willmar because of concerns that an impartial jury couldn't be found in Marshall.

Outside the courthouse, grandparents of Hunter and Jesse Javens, both killed in the crash, wore buttons with the boys' images. "We want to make everybody aware that these babies died," grandmother Joan DesLauriers said tearfully.

At times, testimony became emotional inside the courtroom, too.

Bus driver Dennis Devereaux described seeing the van approach the highway and thinking, "It's going too fast. Doesn't look like it's gonna stop."

The next thing he knew, he said, the bus was tipped over. "It appeared to me it never applied its brakes at all," he said, choking up while describing how he left the bus after helping the children out.

Two motorists testified that they saw a man walking near the passenger's side of the van. Another driver who said she had her attention fixed on the van and made eye contact with Franco in the driver's seat, said she didn't see anyone walking there.

Testimony in the trial, which could last three weeks, continues today.

Recent Local + Metro stories

Oprah Winfrey's mother, Wis. fashion retailer settle bill dispute; terms not disclosed - July 31, 2008

Oprah Winfrey's mother, Wis. fashion retailer settle bill dispute; terms not disclosed - A financial dispute between Oprah Winfrey's mother and a high-end fashion store in Wisconsin has been settled. More