The concrete truck driver charged in the deadly Hays CISD school bus crash last year has pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges, the Bastrop County District Clerk's office confirmed.
Jerry Hernandez, 44, entered a plea deal on Monday. He was charged with two counts of manslaughter and two counts of criminally negligent homicide following the crash. He pleaded guilty on both counts of manslaughter. The state dismissed the other charges. He faces up to 18 years in prison.
Hernandez's attorney refused to comment on the plea deal. District Attorney Bryan Goertz did not return requests for comment by deadline.
Hernandez was driving a concrete truck on State Highway 21 in Bastrop County when he veered into the other lane, hitting the front of the bus and forcing it to roll over. The bus was carrying 44 pre-K students from Tom Green Elementary School and 11 adult chaperones back from a field trip.
Five-year-old Ulises Rodriguez Montoya, a student on the bus, and Ryan Wallace, who was in a car behind it, were killed. Several other people were injured.
According to an arrest affidavit, Hernandez admitted to DPS investigators that he had smoked marijuana the night before the crash, gotten only three hours of sleep and had used cocaine before going to work. Court documents showed he had three prior instances of testing positive for illegal drug use and was being treated by a substance abuse professional.
The truck company, FJM Concrete, and Hernandez face multiple lawsuits connected to the crash.
Tim Savoy, a spokesperson for the district, said the plea deal is one step in the process.
“We know nothing can make people fully whole from this tragedy,” he said. “But our hope is that having a plea deal will bring a semblance of justice for folks.”
He said the district is doing everything possible to ensure students are safe while riding school buses. The bus involved in the crash did not have seat belts because it was an older model. Since the the crash, the district has worked to install and retrofit its buses.
Savoy said nearly all of the district's buses now have seat belts.
A judge is set to formally sentence Hernandez on Sept. 18.
