Driver faces charges in deaths

Felix Doligosa Jr., Rosa Ramirez and Bianca Prieto, Rocky Mountain News

Published November 29, 2006 at midnight

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Jose Francisco Franco-Rodriquez, accused of driving a minivan that crashed and killed four suspected illegal immigrants in Idaho Springs yesterday, was formally advised this afternoon on dozens of human trafficking and driving charges he will face.

Franco-Rodriquez was allegedly driving a 1998 Dodge caravan carrying 14 illegal immigrants that skidded off a snow packed eastbound Interstate 70 near Idaho Springs about 2 p.m. and rolled.

Three men and a pregnant woman died at the scene.

Most of the passengers were thrown out of the van and the 10 survivors were taken to St. Anthony Central Hospital where five are still being treated.

Franco-Rodriquez ran from the accident scene but was tracked to a storage yard and captured about four hours later.

He appeared this afternoon before Clear Creek County Judge Rachel Olguin-Fresquez.

If convicted, Franco-Rodriquez faces up to 32 years in prison and $750,000 in fines on each of 14 counts of smuggling.

On a charge of failing to stay at the scene and give aid, he faces up to 16 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

Each of 14 counts of reckless endangerment carries a penalty of six months in jail and a $750 in fine. He also faces a count of reckless driving, which calls for up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Franco-Rodriquez is being held on $100,000 bond.

He said through a Spanish interpreter that he would like to work out a plea agreement.

Colorado State Patrol Master Trooper Ron Watkins said he believes the accident was related to the weather, adding it is still under investigation.

Five of the 10 surviving passengers, a woman and four men, are being held at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Aurora, said ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok. Their names, as well as the names of the five in the hospital, have not been released.

Rusnok said those who are confirmed to be in the country illegally will be deported.

Rusnok said the driver was carrying $329. He was given $400 for gas money in Phoenix, Ariz., and was supposed to get more money for fuel in Kansas City.

He said the van was headed to Florida and North Carolina.

Clear Creek County Coroner Don Allan said today he could not release the names of the people who died because family members have not been notified. Allan said he was working with the Mexican Consulate's Office in Denver to help identify those victims and find their relatives.

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