OAKLAND, Iowa (AP) — A preliminary report on a school bus fire in western Iowa that killed the driver and a teenage passenger says the fire started in the engine compartment after the bus became stuck in a ditch.

The preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board was issued Friday.

The Dec. 12 fire killed 16-year-old Megan Klindt and 74-year-old Donnie Hendricks.

Friday’s report found that Hendricks was backing the bus out of Klindt’s rural driveway when the bus’ right rear wheels dropped into a 3-foot-deep ditch. As Hendricks tried to drive out of the ditch, a fire began in the engine compartment and spread to the passenger compartment.

The report says it is unknown why Hendricks and Klindt did not exit the bus.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska commission has reprimanded a judge for letting an intoxicated woman enter a guilty plea.

The Nebraska Judicial Qualifications Commission filed a decision this week that said Douglas County Judge Lawrence Barrett should’ve known the defendant was likely too intoxicated to enter a competent guilty plea.

The Fifth Amendment says a defendant must “knowingly, willingly, intelligently and voluntarily” enter a plea.

Sarah Carr was arrested in Lincoln in 2016 on suspicion of drunk driving. She was accused of violating a reckless driving probation term and scheduled to go to court.

But when she appeared in court in February 2017, her aunt told the judge that Carr was “passed out in the car” after having been drinking the previous night.

The aunt and a court official retrieved Carr from the vehicle, put her in a wheelchair and brought her into the courtroom.

The prosecutor and Douglas County public defender Deborah Lee told the judge that Carr would plead guilty. Barrett sentenced Carr to 90 days in jail. A breath test administered after the sentence showed that Carr had a blood-alcohol content of .44, a level that could be deadly, according to toxicology experts.

Carr has said she has little to no memory of the sentencing.

In other cases, judges have typically administered a breath test before the sentencing. Defense attorneys then ask for the case to be delayed.

Barrett gave Carr the opportunity to withdraw the plea after newpaper inquiries regarding the sentencing. Carr declined.

Richard Bird, Carr’s father, said he doesn’t support the reprimand.

“Judge Barrett made the best decision he could have ever made,” Bird said. “We needed to dry her out.”

The commission decision said that Barrett cooperated with the commission’s investigation and no further discipline would be needed.

Barrett didn’t return the newspaper’s request seeking comment.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A man accused of killing a Grand Island teenager on New Year’s Day faces trial after waiving his preliminary hearing.

24-year-old Herbey Portillo Jr., of Grand Island, waived the hearing Friday. He first-degree murder case was then bound over to district court for trial. He is also charged with use of a weapon to commit a felony.

Police arrested Portillo on Jan. 2 after finding him hiding in a Grand Island garage. He’s accused of killing 19-year-old Trevor Sok. Police found Sok injured around 3:45 a.m. Jan. 1 at a Grand Island home. He later died at a hospital.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A $1.25 million lawsuit has been filed in U.S. District Court in Omaha over the construction of the Omaha National Cemetery.

Seedorff Masonry Inc. of Strawberry Point, Iowa, has sued a Chicago construction company and the project’s insurer over unpaid bills.

The lawsuit says Archer Western Construction entered into a contract in 2014 with the Department of Veterans Affairs to furnish materials and perform the labor for the cemetery. An attorney for Seedorff, a subcontractor on the project, says Seedorff provided nearly $3.2 million in labor and materials, but Archer has paid the company only $1.9 million.

In the lawsuit filed Monday, Seedorff alleges Archer and Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America owe Seedorff $1.25 million, plus interest.

The cemetery opened in 2016.