AUSTIN, Texas — New details about the criminal history of the man charged in the fatal school bush crash in Bastrop County last month are coming to light.
Jerry Hernandez is charged with criminal negligent homicide for the crash on March 22. The cement truck he was driving is seen on video crossing the double yellow line on Highway 21, hitting a Hays County CISD school bus carrying 44 children and 11 adults.
The collision killed 5-year-old Ulises Rodriguez Montoya, who was on the bus, and Ryan Wallace, whose SUV was hit by the cement truck. Wallace wasn’t associated with the school district.
Court documents show Hernandez was arrested in Travis County in 2006 for driving on a suspended license. He was later arrested twice in Hays County in 2023 by San Marcos police for domestic violence (family violence assault) in August and by Hays County deputies for criminal mischief in November, involving a fight with his estranged wife.
During an interview with DPS troopers after the Bastrop County crash, Hernandez admitted to smoking marijuana the night before the crash, sleeping only three hours and using cocaine after waking up the day of the crash. He also told troopers he took a 15 minute nap in his truck prior to leaving the job site before the crash.
While being questioned in the hospital, troopers say Hernandez seemed unaware of the magnitude of the crash and didn’t mention striking the school bus.
In the documents, investigators say Hernandez’s lack of sleep, use of narcotics and a long workday would have had a significant impact on his ability to operate a motor vehicle safely.
According to court records, Hernandez also failed two drug tests in the past, testing positive for marijuana in Dec. 2022 and cocaine in April 2023.
Court records say Hernandez’s commercial driving status is currently prohibited, but the state’s driver’s licensing agencies are not required to downgrade CDL Statuses until Nov. 2024 according to changes in the federal register.
Court documents also state the owner of the company Hernandez was working for, FJM Concrete LLC, told DPS he had not verified the status of Hernandez’s commercial driver’s license with the federal drug and alcohol clearing house database before hiring him.