BASTROP COUNTY, Texas — A Tom Green Elementary School teacher, who was on the bus that crashed and rolled over last month in Bastrop County, is suing the driver of the concrete truck that collided with the bus and the concrete company.

What You Need To Know

  • The teacher, Deborah Serna, and her husband filed the lawsuit on Thursday against F.J.M Concrete, LLC, Hernandez and Geico Texas County Mutual Insurance Company and are seeking at least $1 million to cover her medical expenses

  • The lawsuit says that Serna was severely injured in the crash and has at least four broken bones in her back and will be out of work while she recovers

  • “The level of negligence and gross negligence by the Defendants in this case truly shocks the conscience," the lawsuit says

The crash occurred on Friday, March 22, when the driver of the concrete truck, Jerry Hernandez, crossed the double yellow line and struck the school bus head-on, causing the bus to roll over. The bus was carrying 44 pre-K students and 11 adults returning from a field trip to the Bastrop Zoo. Two people died as a result of the crash, 5-year-old Ulises Rodriguez Montoya and 33-year-old Ryan Wallace, who was driving the car behind the bus.

The teacher, Deborah Serna, and her husband filed the lawsuit on Thursday against F.J.M Concrete, LLC, Hernandez and Geico Texas County Mutual Insurance Company and are seeking at least $1 million to cover her medical expenses. 

The lawsuit says that Serna was severely injured in the crash and has at least four broken bones in her back and will be out of work while she recovers. 

Hernandez is also facing criminal charges of negligent homicide in connection to the crash. During an interview with Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, Hernandez said he smoked marijuana the night before the crash, and he also admitted to using cocaine the day of the crash.

Hernandez had a previous criminal history, including two arrests in 2023 in Hays County for domestic violence and criminal mischief. 

Court records say that Hernandez had failed two drug tests in the past two years, one in December 2022 and one in August 2023.

Court documents also indicate that the owner of FJM Concrete LLC told investigators he had not verified Hernandez’s commercial driver’s license with the federal drug and alcohol clearing house database. Hernandez’s commercial driving status is currently prohibited.

“This case is a textbook example of how evil, depraved gross negligence can wreak havoc and destruction on the best and most innocent in our world,” the suit says. “The level of negligence and gross negligence by the Defendants in this case truly shocks the conscience.”

The National Transportation Safety Board announced on Monday it was opening an incident investigation into the crash.

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