COTTONWOOD, Minn. -- Authorities have confirmed that the the driver of the van that struck the school bus that killed 4 students on Tuesday is an illegal alien.
Officials at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement are checking to see where she came from and how long she's been in Minnesota. FOX 9 has also learned that the name she gave to police, Alainiss Morales, is an alias.
23-year-old Alainiss N. Morales was taken into custody on suspicion of criminal vehicular operation. She was arrested by the State Patrol Thursday afternoon and is being held in Lyon County Jail. County Attorney Rick Maes told the Marshall Independent charges could come later Thursday or Friday.
The National Transportation Safety Board and Minnesota State Patrol are investigating Tuesday's bus crash near Cottonwood, Minnesota that killed four children and injured 14 people. More recently, details have emerged about the van involved in the accident and its driver.
The van was heading east on County Road 24, which has a stop sign as it ends in a T intersection with state Highway 23, the road the bus was traveling. The van struck the bus, which rolled over onto a truck.
The driver of the truck told the Minneapolis Star Tribune he saw the van run the stop sign.
"I saw the maroon van run a stop sign, it blew over the railroad tracks and hit the bus, sending it sliding into me," James M. Hancock, 45, of Marshall, told the newspaper from his hospital bed in Sioux Falls, S.D. "The next thing I knew, they were hauling kids out and it was chaos."
The van was driven by Alianiss N. Morales, 23, of Minneota. The Fox 9 Investigator found Morales pleaded guilty in Chippewa County in 2006 to driving without a valid license.
State Patrol officials said Thursday they were not immediately able to confirm if Morales was unlicensed, nor could they confirm whether Morales ran a stop sign. Lt. Mark Peterson said that was still under investigation, but that the investigation was "moving forward very quickly."
The school bus was carrying 28 students. Cottonwood Fire Chief Dale Louluagie confirmed that 3 fatalities of the crash died immediately upon impact and the fourth victim died around 8 p.m. Tuesday night.
STUDENTS KILLED IN CRASH IDENTIFIED
Hunter Javens, 9, Cottonwood.
Jesse Javens, 13, Cottonwood (Hunter & Jesse were brothers)
Emilee Olson, 9, Cottonwood
Reed Stevens, 12, Marshall.
DRIVERS INVOLVED IN CRASH
The driver of the school bus was Dennis A. Deveraux, 52, Cottonwood.
The driver of the van was Alianiss N. Morales, 23, Minneota, who is currently in stable condition.
The driver of the pickup truck was James M. Hancock, 45, Marshall, who is currently in fair condition.
MEMORIAL FUND
Memorial Fund for Families of Bus Crash Victims
United Southwest Bank
P.O. Box 288
Cottonwood, MN 56229
Names of the other students involved in the crash are being held at this time pending the investigation of the crash -- not because they are victims, but because they are witnesses.
The bus driver, Dennis Deveraux, issued a statement through his wife Wednesday, saying that her husband's "highest priority is the well-being of the children, and he was doing what he needed to do at the time to assure the safety of the children."
THURSDAY: LAKEVIEW SCHOOL RESUMES CLASSES
Students return to class today after the worst school bus crash in at least two decades.
A memorial service was planned for Thursday night in the gymnasium of Lakeview School. Gov. Tim Pawlenty planned to attend, and locals expected most of Cottonwood's 1,150 residents to be in attendance.
