BASTROP COUNTY, Texas — The driver of the concrete pumper truck that swerved into the wrong lane and crashed into a Hays CISD school bus carrying a group of pre-K students from Tom Green Elementary on March 22 has been arrested and charged with criminally negligent homicide.
On Thursday, KVUE learned that 42-year-old Jerry Hernandez allegedly admitted to drug use the night before and morning of the crash. Court documents revealed that Hernandez had used cocaine and that he was driving on just three hours of sleep the day his truck crashed into the bus.
Hernandez told the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) that he swerved his truck to avoid a vehicle that broke suddenly in front of him, but footage of the crash released by Hays CISD doesn't appear to support his claim. Hernandez also refused to provide a blood sample for analysis, according to court documents.
RELATED: Truck driver allegedly admitted to drug use before deadly school bus crash in Bastrop County
The crash killed 5-year-old student Ulises Rodriguez Montoya and 33-year-old Ryan Wallace, a Ph.D. student at the University of Texas at Austin. Dozens of others were also injured.
The full investigation is still ongoing, but DPS confirmed to KVUE that Hernandez was arrested Friday afternoon on a warrant for criminally negligent homicide and for an unrelated warrant for a bond violation out of Hays County. Court records show that bond violation was for an assault family violence charge from January.
DPS said the two warrants were served at a Bastrop County residence, and Hernandez was taken into custody without incident.
Below is a mugshot of Hernandez from his January 2024 arrest.
Video of the collision shows the driver of the school bus tried to avoid the crash by partially moving onto the shoulder before it was hit.
There are multiple fundraisers online to help the victims of the crash and their families.