Documents show Jerry Hernandez had three positive drug tests. His employer also allegedly did not check his background before hiring.
BASTROP COUNTY, Texas — The driver of a cement pumper truck that crashed into a school bus in Central Texas allegedly had several previous positive drug tests, according to documents obtained by KVUE.
The documents show that 42-year-old cement pumper truck driver Jerry Hernandez had positive drug tests in 2020, 2022 and 2023. Hernandez received the first drug test for refusal for reasonable suspicion when Hernandez “should have been removed from performing safety-sensitive functions at this point by the company he was driving for at the time,” according to an affidavit.
Hernandez then took two follow-up tests, which both came back positive. In 2022, Hernandez allegedly tested positive for marijuana in December 2022 and cocaine in April 2023. However, Hernandez’s Texas commercial driver’s license (CDL) remains eligible in the state, as status downgrades are not set to be made until November 2024.
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Court documents also revealed Hernandez’s employer, Francisco Martinez, failed to conduct a background check before completing the hiring process. Martinez, who owns FJM Concrete, LLC, allegedly did not complete verification of Hernadez’s CDL or status through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse website.
According to the affidavit, Martinez did not know about Hernandez’s previous positive drug charges and also stated there were no issues with the cement truck driven on the day of the crash.
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On Friday, Hernandez was arrested and charged with criminally negligent homicide after allegedly admitting to using cocaine and only sleeping three hours the night leading up to the deadly bus crash.
“Mr. Hernandez has a history of failed drug tests and should have been aware that operating a commercial motor vehicle with drugs in his system is prohibited by state and federal law,” court documents state. “His lack of sleep, use of narcotics, and long workday would have had a significant impact on his ability to operate a commercial vehicle.”
Meanwhile, Hernandez has been declared an “imminent hazard to public safety” and ordered to “immediately cease operating any commercial motor vehicle in interstate or intrastate commerce,” according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
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