Affidavit: Concrete truck driver charged, admits to consuming cocaine before fatal bus crash
BASTROP COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — The concrete truck driver involved in the fatal Hays CISD school bus crash admitted to smoking marijuana and consuming cocaine within 24 hours of the crash, according to court documents.
An affidavit showed 42-year-old Jerry Hernandez faces charges of criminally negligent homicide in connection with the incident. Sgt. Deon Cockrell with the Texas Department of Public Safety couldn't confirm whether Hernandez was in custody as of Friday afternoon.
Two people died in the crash — 5-year-old Ulises Rodriguez Montoya who was on the bus and 33-year-old Ryan Wallace who was traveling in a vehicle behind the bus.
According to the affidavit, Hernandez told investigators he smoked marijuana around 10 p.m. the night before the crash, as well as admitted to consuming cocaine around 1 a.m. on the morning of the crash.
Documents also showed Hernandez told police he slept about three hours the night before the crash.
On Thursday, DPS confirmed a warrant was issued for a specimen of Hernandez’s blood from the Bastrop District County Court in connection with the incident.
On March 22, a bus carrying 44 Tom Green Elementary pre-K students and 11 adults was returning from a field trip to the Capital of Texas Zoo in Bastrop County when a concrete truck veered into the bus’ lane, hitting the front of the vehicle and causing it to roll over.
The crash occurred on State Highway 21 near Caldwell Road, and the Texas Department of Public Safety said its crash reconstruction team was investigating the incident.
Austin-Travis County EMS said it evaluated 53 people involved in the incident, of which, four were in critical condition while six had potentially serious injuries.
The bus did not have seat belts, according to Hays CISD. The district said about 40 other buses in its fleet also do not have seat belts.
Hays CISD Superintendent Dr. Eric Wright said it is "accelerating" the process for replacing those buses without seat belts.
“We are supposed to get our next round of buses in 3-4 weeks that all are equipped with seat belts that will make it where our entire fleet of route buses all have seat belts,” Wright previously told KXAN. “Then we’re going to accelerate with our Facilities and Bond Oversight Committee with the blessing of our School Board, to go out to replace our spare buses with buses that all have seat belts.”
Kelly Wiley contributed to this story.