Truck driver sentenced in fatal Hays CISD bus crash will soon be eligible for parole

Editor's Note: The above video shows the dash camera video of the collision from the bus driver's viewpoint. KXAN has removed the audio. AUSTIN (KXAN) — The concrete pump truck driver sentenced to 18 years in prison after his involvement in a deadly collision with a Hays CISD school bus is eligible for parole beginning April 19, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). In 2024, 45-year-old Jerry Hernandez was arrested and charged with two counts of manslaughter and two counts of criminally negligent homicide after the crash killed one elementary school student and a driver who was in a vehicle behind the bus. Bastrop County court records showed Hernandez was convicted of both counts of manslaughter after pleading guilty to the charges. As part of the plea deal, the state dismissed the criminally negligent homicide charges. Hernandez was sentenced by a judge on Sept. 18, 2025, and was projected to be released from prison on March 22, 2042. His release date was calculated after applying the time he had already served in jail. But before Hernandez is denied or given parole, he'll have to follow the state's process, which involves going before a parole board. While the state's online records listed Hernandez's parole eligibility date and showed he was currently in the parole review process, it was unclear when his parole hearing might be. The TDCJ said the parole review process begins roughly six months before the parole eligibility date, where the offender's file is reviewed, and a parole officer interviews the offender and prepares a case summary for the board. Normally, the board votes on the case just before the parole eligibility date.