Overview

• Jerry Hernandez, 44, pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter as prosecutors dismissed two criminally negligent homicide charges, and a judge imposed an 18-year concurrent sentence.
• Investigators say he crossed the center line on State Highway 21 on March 22, 2024, causing a rollover that killed 5-year-old Ulises Rodriguez Montoya and 33-year-old Ryan Wallace.
• The bus carried 44 Tom Green Elementary pre-K students and 11 adults returning from a field trip, and onboard camera footage captured the truck veering into its lane.
• An arrest affidavit and court records say Hernandez used marijuana the night before and cocaine that morning, slept about three hours, and previously tested positive for illegal drugs while in treatment.
• Civil suits targeting Hernandez and employer FJM Concrete remain active, and Hays CISD says nearly all district buses now have seat belts after the older bus involved lacked them.