Brittany Kelley
BASTROP — More than a year after a Hays CISD bus was involved in a major accident, leaving its community shattered, Jerry Hernandez, 44, was sentenced to 18 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice system for two counts of manslaughter, to run concurrently, Sept. 18.
In the afternoon of March 22, 2024, a Hays CISD bus filled with Tom Green Elementary School pre-kindergarten students was returning from a morning at the Capital of Texas Zoo in Cedar Creek, when a concrete pump truck, driven by Hernandez, veered into its lane.
As previously reported by the Hays Free Press, 53 individuals were evaluated onsite, with several being transported by STAR Flight.
The collision took the lives of two individuals — Ulises Rodriguez Montoya, a 5-year-old student, and 33-year-old Ryan Wallace.
Hernandez was apprehended at the scene and ultimately charged with two counts of manslaughter, second-degree felonies, and two counts of criminal negligent homicide, state jail felonies.
Court documents state that the school bus was traveling west on State Highway 21, when the concrete pump truck, traveling east, crossed over the line. The bus driver attempted to avoid the collision, but was, ultimately, struck, causing the vehicle to roll over. The truck went on to hit a Hyundai, which was driven by Ryan, and Toyota. The driver of the latter was not injured.
The defendant later admitted to smoking marijuana at 10 p.m. the night before and consuming cocaine at 1 a.m., approximately 13 hours prior to the crash, read the documents. Additionally, Hernandez stated that he only slept three hours the night before.
Documents obtained by the Hays Free Press indicate that Hernandez had a refusal for a reasonable suspicion test Sept. 9, 2020, which should have caused him to be removed from “performing safety-sensitive functions.” He also tested positive for marijuana in December 2020 and cocaine in April 2023, causing his license to become prohibited, but the case file stated that State Driver’s Licensing Agencies were not required to downgrade the status until Nov. 18, 2024.
The owner of the company that operated the pump truck involved in the accident stated that he had not verified Hernandez’s commercial driver’s license or status through the federal Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse database.
Three months after the accident, Hernandez accepted a plea bargain agreement on June 23, 2024. The agreement stated the defendant would receive 18 years for each count of manslaughter, to run concurrently, and receive a dismissal for the remaining two counts of criminal negligent homicide.
Because the plea bargain agreement states that Hernandez will be eligible for parole once time served equals a third of the sentence, he will be able to apply in four years, due to his credit for time served.
During the sentencing, which occurred Sept. 18, 2025, in the Bastrop County Courthouse, Hays CISD staff members, parents and the family of Ryan were present to witness 423rd District Judge Christopher Dugan accept the agreement.
Ten attendees opted to read victim impact statements, which Hernandez was required to listen to.
The first was Victoria Limon, who was working as a special education aide during the collision, donning a Tom Green Strong shirt as she took the podium.
Recounting the moment the concrete pump truck hit the school bus, she stated that the moment felt never ending, as she clenched her daughter. As a result of the accident, she fractured several vertebrae in her back, had a contusion on her leg, as well as other injuries, while her daughter was covered in glass, bruises and cuts.
Though lasting an instant, Limon stated that her life has been forever changed. She was forced to stop breastfeeding her youngest child, due to the amount of painkillers she was on, and her son was afraid of her appearance. Now, she has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder: “You can’t unsee the pain in the kids’ eyes, the blood pouring out of their heads.”
Limon continued, stating that although she will forgive him in time, as God would want her to do, she is struggling because she believes that Hernandez knew what he was doing when he chose to not sleep and do drugs prior to getting behind the wheel.
Another teacher, Trisha Zyrowski, began and ended her statement with the same line: “Grief demands a witness.”
Zyrowski, a deaf education teacher in the district, stated that her son had never been on a bus and that morning, she reassured him that he would be okay and, now, she can never take back the fact that she was wrong.
The mother recalled the phone call she received when she found out that her 4-year-old son was involved in an accident. Terrible thoughts filled her mind, as she gathered with other parents, who were emptying their stomachs on the grass, chests heaving and begging for updates on their children. For two hours, they were helpless and left without answers, she said.
When she finally discovered that her son was in the hospital, Zyrowski was ready to run to him, but she recalled the deaf students that were returned to school and panicked; their only form of communication — their teacher — had been transported by STAR Flight, due to her injuries, so she stayed with them, attempting to explain the situation and calm them.
Five hours later, she finally saw her son, only he was not the same boy she dropped off earlier that morning. He was in shock, mute and filled with glass. It was months before he could move without pain, as there was so much glass that the doctors couldn’t remove it all. Even still, more than a year later, she stated that there is glass lodged into his finger — a forever reminder of the horrid day.
Her son has forever stayed on the bus, she said, as his behavior, actions and personality have been forever shifted.
Several other teachers and parents spoke, as well, with Hernandez attempting to speak to each one before being told to refrain from comments by Judge Dugan.
No victim impact statements were read by the Rodriguez Montoya family.
Following the sentencing, Hays CISD stated that it was "grateful for all of the people involved in seeking accountability from the person who caused the school bus crash that claimed two precious lives in March 2024. The work to bring people to justice is never easy. However, today, as it is on all days, the district’s focus remains on lifting up those who suffered trauma and loss. There is nothing that can ever bring back Ulises Montoya Rodriguez or Ryan Wallace. And, there is nothing that can ever erase the wounds, both physical and emotional, incurred on that fateful and tragic day."
Finally, Ryan’s family took to the stand, where his mother, Lily Wallace, informed Hernandez that he has “broken our hearts with no chance of repair,” as her son is never to return.
She explained that Ryan was more than “just a UT graduate student,” as many news articles labeled him. He was a professional, who had just started his dream job, purchased a new car and a house and was headed to pick up his nephews and make dinner with the family, as he did each and every Friday.
“He died alone and laid on the asphalt in the middle of the road. How can I, as a mother, move on,” Lily asked.
Despite feeling as though justice was not served, she stated that she is taking the advice of her son.
“I’m going to write a strongly worded letter” and make her voice heard, Lily said.
Additionally, other members of Ryan’s family spoke and promised to write to the parole board every year to ensure that Hernandez at leasts serves the entirety of his sentence.
Morgan Wallace, father of Ryan, concluded the impact statements by speaking directly to the court and asking them to “consider what justice is,” questioning if justice is really serving 18 years, while the families of the two deceased “have been sentenced to life,” a life without their loved ones.
