Driver in fatal Cottonwood bus crash appeals conviction

Olga Franco
Olga Franco del Cid walks to the courthouse for a hearing before her trial last year.
MPR Photo/Mark Steil

The woman convicted of causing a school bus crash that killed four children last winter is appealing her conviction.

Olga Franco del Cid's attorney filed a notice of appeal with the Minnesota Court of Appeals last week.

She was found guilty in August of four counts of criminal vehicular homicide and 17 counts of criminal vehicular operation. She was sentenced in October to nearly 13 years in prison.

Franco, who was injured in the crash, claimed her boyfriend was driving and that she was thrown into the driver's seat by the impact. He disappeared after the crash.

Franco is Guatemalan and was living and working in Minnesota illegally under an assumed name.

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Information from: KSTP-TV, http://www.kstp.com

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