Woman convicted in fatal 2008 bus crash is accused of illegally re-entering U.S.

A Guatemalan woman who spent eight years in prison for causing a fatal school bus crash and was later deported is facing federal charges for returning to the United States.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota announced an indictment against 35-year-old Olga Marina Franco del Cid on Friday on charges of illegal re-entry, identification document fraud and false representation of a Social Security account number. Franco del Cid will appear before Magistrate Judge Katherine Menendez on Monday.

In 2008, Franco del Cid ran a stop sign and crashed a van into a school bus in Cottonwood, Minn., killing four children under age 13. The crash drew national attention to the immigration debate. She was convicted of four counts of criminal vehicular homicide and 17 counts of criminal vehicular operation, giving a false name to police, failing to stop at the entrance to a thruway and driving without a valid license.

Responders at the scene found Franco del Cid behind the steering wheel, her right foot wedged under a crumpled dashboard near the accelerator. Her attorneys argued that her boyfriend was the one driving the van and fled because he didn't want to be deported to Mexico. They argued that he was thrown out of the van on impact, and Franco del Cid was thrown into the driver's seat.

Franco del Cid was deported in 2016 after her release from prison. Immigration and Customs Enforcement took her into custody in November after receiving a tip that she had returned to Minnesota.