TEXAS – A grand jury has indicted cement mixer driver Jerry Hernandez on multiple counts, including manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter, following a fatal collision with a school bus on March 22, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
The accident killed five-year-old Ulises Rodriguez Montoya and Ryan Wallace, whose SUV was hit by the cement truck.
Hernandez is being held in the Bastrop County Jail.
The accident occurred as a school bus carrying 44 preschool students from Tom Green Elementary and 11 adults was returning from a field trip to the Bastrop Zoo. The cement mixer crossed the double yellow line, forcing the school bus to swerve, causing the bus to skid and roll over before finally coming to an upright stop.
According to Eric Wright, the superintendent of the school district, in addition to the two fatalities, 51 other people were injured, including the bus driver.
The concrete pump truck struck Ryan Wallace’s vehicle behind the school bus, crushing it.
According to the affidavit, Hernandez told DPS officers during a post-crash interview that he smoked marijuana the night before the crash, slept only three hours and did cocaine after waking up the day of the crash. He also admitted to taking a 15-minute nap in his truck before leaving the job site.
