The preschooler who died in a school bus crash on Friday has been identified by his Texas school district.
Ulises Rodríguez Montoya, 5, died from injuries suffered after the school bus he was riding on was struck by a concrete truck that veered into the bus lane.
The school bus, carrying 44 preschool students from Tom Green Elementary School, was returning from a field trip to the Texas Capital Zoo.
The Texas Department of Public Safety said the cement truck turned toward the school bus just before the driver of a third vehicle, a Dodge Charger, crashed into the bus.
The driver of the Charger, an adult man, also died.
Ulises Rodríguez Montoya, 5, died from injuries suffered Friday after the school bus he was riding on was struck by a concrete truck that veered into the bus lane.
Community members described Montoya as a “child filled with a lot of happiness,” who “often shared with others,” according to Naira (Dina) Solís Shears, his bilingual pre-K teacher.
‘He had a talent for drawing and what he liked to draw the most were dinosaurs. He could almost completely spell the word dinosaur, which shows how intelligent he was.
‘I always had a dinosaur drawn on every assignment I handed in. He liked to tell stories and shared many with his friends and family. Above all, he was a loving child,” he said.
Classes at Tom Green, which is part of the Hays Consolidated Independent School District, were canceled Monday, although the building was open for those seeking counseling.
According recent reportsPlans for the boy’s funeral and memorial service are still pending.
TO GoFundMe launched by Ulysses’ aunt has raised more than $60,000 that will go towards the funeral, burial and other unforeseen expenses the family now must face.
The school bus transporting the young students reportedly did not have seat belts, because it was manufactured in 2011, before the state of Texas required the safety feature on board such vehicles.
A statement from the school district says the family of the deceased boy is “grateful for the tremendous support, condolences and prayers from the community and people around the world.”
Montoya is survived by his immediate and extended family, including his parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, all of whom will miss him.
People transported from fatal school bus crash near Austin: Preschool class returning from zoo visit
A rescuer pulls a pre-Ke-er from the accident scene.
Families gather with their children at Tom Green Elementary School in Buda, Texas, after the school’s pre-K students were involved in a bus rollover accident on Texas State Highway 21 near Caldwell Road on Friday, March 22, 2024 in Bastrop. Texas
A girl is transported from a fatal school bus crash on Texas State Highway 21 near Caldwell Road on Friday.
Ulises Rodríguez Montoya was remembered as a happy boy who loved dinosaurs and often shared his joy with others.
The school bus was manufactured in 2011 and therefore did not have seat belts.
A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper inspects the scene of the fatal school bus crash
Classes at Tom Green, which is part of the Hays Consolidated Independent School District, were canceled Monday, although the building was open for those seeking counseling.
Following Friday’s accident, many other children were also transported to local hospitals.
According to a statement from Tom Green Elementary School, 51 other people were also injured.
TO GoFundMe launched by the elementary school’s leadership team has raised nearly $78,000 for the devastated community. As of Sunday night, two students and two school district employees remained hospitalized.
The accident occurred on Texas State Highway 21, about an hour from the school’s location in Buda.
Families were alerted to the accident and spent agonizing hours waiting to be reunited with their children.
For many of the children on the bus, the accident was a tragic end to their first field trip.
According to a local KXAN reportHector Campos said receiving the phone call Friday reporting that his daughter’s school bus had been in an accident was “the worst feeling in the world.”
“You never think you’d get one, and for me, my heart sank immediately.”
The worried father says he rushed to the accident scene, where he waited hours to see if his daughter was okay.
“There was complete chaos there. It was very hard,’ she said. Her daughter, Caliana, escaped the fatal accident with only a few scratches.