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BASTROP — The driver of the cement truck that collided with a Hays Consolidated Independent School District bus did not have a background check before driving the truck.
According to a report by KVUE, Jerry Hernandez, 42, had three previous positive drug tests in 2020, 2022 and 2023. In December of 2022, Hernandez allegedly tested positive for marijuana. He then tested positive for cocaine in April of last year.
His Texas commercial driver’s license was still eligible in Texas.
The report said Francisco Martinez, the owner of the FJM Concrete, LLC, the company that hired Hernandez, did complete a background check on the driver. Martinez allegedly did not complete verification of Hernandez’s CDL or status through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse website.
KVUE’s report said Martinez did not know Hernandez had previous drug charges, and there were no issues with the cement truck driven on the day of the crash.
According to the affidavit, a warrant for a blood sample was issued March 22 after Hernandez initially refused to provide a voluntary specimen for analysis.
Trooper Jacob Burlinson carried out the warrant, speaking with Hernandez in the hospital, according to officials. The man told the trooper he “smoked marijuana at approximately 10 p.m. the night before the crash,” the documents said.
Hernandez reportedly slept for only three hours, waking up at 12:30 a.m., and “admitted to consuming cocaine about 1 a.m. on the morning of the crash,” the report added.
The collision claimed the lives of Ulises Rodriguez Montoya, 5, a preschooler on the bus, and Ryan Wallace, 33, a motorist whose 2024 Hyundai which was also struck by the cement pumper.
School officials said 44 children — ages 4 to 6 — and 11 adults were making a return trip to Tom Green Elementary School in Buda after an outing at the Bastrop Zoo when the collision occurred.
Investigators said a cement truck traveling east on Texas 21 drifted out of its lane and struck the school bus, driven by Aida Ogle, carrying the preschoolers and other passengers near the FM 812 intersection.
The bus tumbled onto its side, as seen in security footage provided by the Hays CISD. Wallace’s vehicle was also hit by the pumper truck.
The collision sent 10 others with severe injuries to area hospitals.
Friday, Hernandez was arrested and charged with criminal negligent homicide, a state-jail felony. A conviction is punishable by a sentence of 180 days to two years behind bars and a fine not to exceed $10,000.
