Gag order issued in school bus crash case

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A judge has issued a gag order in the upcoming trial of a woman accused of causing a fatal school bus crash in southwestern Minnesota.

Judge David Peterson has ordered that anyone involved in the Olga Franco trial refrain from making statements about the case outside of the courtroom, from now until the end of the proceedings.

Franco is accused of slamming into a school bus with a minivan near Cottonwood Minn., on Feb. 19. The crash killed four students.

Franco's attorney claims she's innocent, and that her boyfriend was driving the van. Officials say Franco, a native of Guatemala, was living in the U.S. illegally at the time of the accident.

In the order, Judge Peterson says the case has already received extensive media attention and that will likely continue through the trial.

Peterson says the gag order comes at a critical juncture as the search for an impartial jury begins. Jury selection in the trial, which will be held in Willmar, starts on Monday.