by Jen Biundo
A wreck Monday morning in front of Buda Elementary School claimed the life of one Buda man and left another man injured.
Investigators with the Texas Department of Public Safety say Joshua Keith Hertenstein, 32, died in the head-on collision at 590 RM 967.
According to DPS investigators, the accident occurred just before 7 a.m., when Hertenstein, driving a blue 2001 Hyundai Accent, was heading southeast on RM 967 and attempted to pass other vehicles in the no-passing zone at the hard curve just before Cole Springs Road.
While passing in the westbound lane, Hertenstein collided head-on with a tan Chevy Suburban driven by Buda resident Ronnie Cruz, 22, a cafeteria worker at Dahlstrom Middle School.
Investigators did not see any pre-impact skid marks or gouges in the road, indicating that neither driver had time to attempt to swerve out of the way.
Hertenstein was pronounced dead on the scene, while Cruz was Starflighted to Brackenridge Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries including multiple leg fractures, said DPS Sergeant Dane Baker. He was in stable condition Tuesday.
DPS originally reported the name of the second driver as Guadalupe Cruz, Ronnie Cruz’s mother and the owner of the vehicle. Guadalupe Cruz is the head custodian at Hays High School.
Hertenstein, originally from Phoenix, AZ, had been living in Buda’s Creekside Park subdivision since December, said his roommates, Casey and Natalie Grossnickle.
Hertenstein, who went by his middle name Keith, worked three jobs at a warehouse, catering company and landscaping company to pay child support for his seven year old daughter, his roommates said.
“He’s a really incredibly sweet guy,” Natalie Grossnickle said.
Her husband Casey described his roommate as laid back, and said that even though he didn’t get to see his daughter much because she lived out of town, he talked about her frequently.
“I know that he loved her very much,” Casey Grossnickle said.
