The trucker who crashed into a Texas school bus full of preschoolers, killing two people, admitted he used cocaine shortly before the crash.
On March 22, a truck crashed into a bus carrying 44 Tom Green Elementary School preschool students returning from a field trip to the Texas Capital Zoo.
The Texas Department of Public Safety said the cement truck collided with the school vehicle just before the driver of a third vehicle, a Dodge Charger, also collided with the bus.
The driver of the truck was Jerry Hernandez, 42, who has since admitted that he smoked marijuana the night before the accident, slept only about three hours and then woke up to go to work at 1 a.m. and used cocaine.
Hernandez confessed to using the illicit drug when he was rushed to the hospital after the fatal crash that killed two people, including a young student.
The trucker who crashed into a Texas school bus full of preschoolers, killing two people, admitted he used cocaine shortly before the crash.
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.
Ulises Rodríguez Montoya was remembered as a happy boy who loved dinosaurs and often shared his joy with others.
Five-year-old Ulises Rodríguez Montoya, who was a preschooler on board, was one of two people who tragically died in the horrific accident.
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.
Montoya is survived by her immediate and extended family, including her parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
The driver of the Charger, an adult man, also died.
Shocking dash cam footage released by the school district shows the terrifying moment the truck careens toward the bus, causing it to flip over and turn into rubble.
Court documents revealed that Hernandez crossed double yellow lines in the path of the bus, which swerved to avoid the vehicle.
Police officers testified in documents that there was enough evidence to file criminal charges against Hernandez.
The accident is still under investigation.
A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper inspects the scene of the fatal school bus crash
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
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.
A girl is transported from a fatal school bus crash on Texas State Highway 21 near Caldwell Road on Friday.
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.
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.