Hays CISD releases video from deadly Tom Green Elementary school bus crash
Video obtained by the American-Statesman on Wednesday of the deadly Hays school district bus crash in Bastrop County last week shows a commercial concrete truck heading east on Texas 21 veer into the westbound lane of the highway, striking the school bus and causing it to completely roll over before landing on its side.
The Hays school district released the video to the Statesman as part of a public information request for footage of the crash that left 5-year-old Ulises Rodriguez Montoya and Ryan Wallace, 33, dead and dozens of students and teachers injured. Wallace was a doctoral student at the University of Texas.
The video provides the clearest view yet of how the cement truck veered into the opposite lane and struck the bus, causing it to roll on its side.
The crash happened about 2 p.m. Friday on Texas 21 near its intersection with Caldwell Road just west of Cedar Creek when a concrete truck collided with a school bus carrying 44 pre-K students and 11 adults from Tom Green Elementary School on their way home from a field trip to a zoo in Bastrop County, law enforcement officials said.
Wallace was driving in a car behind the bus, officials said.
The school district released two 2-minute videos of footage from front-facing and side-facing cameras on the bus.
Texas 21 was busy the day of the crash, according to a video. The school bus drove past about 20 cars in the minute before the crash happened.
The video shows the bus traveling in the only westbound lane on the highway and the concrete truck driving in the left eastbound lane just before 1:59 p.m.
The concrete truck veered over the double yellow lines into the westbound traffic lane, while the bus driver tried to avoid the crash by partly moving onto the shoulder of the road before being hit, according to the video.
Just before the impact, the video recorded someone on the bus cry out.
The concrete truck passed the front of the bus just as it left the view of the bus’s front camera, and then the bus got hit, flipped over and landed on the driver's side, facing the opposite direction in which it was traveling.
As the bus rolled over, metal chunks and papers can be seen flying around. When the bus lands, the video records students crying out in fear.
The entire crash happened in less than 10 seconds, according to the video. Cars driving around the bus began pulling off to the side of the highway and people immediately jumped out of their vehicles and started running toward the bus.
One camera captured someone calling out, "911," and another person crying, “Oh my God.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, law enforcement officials hadn’t publicly identified the driver of the commercial truck, what company owns the truck or why the truck driver veered out of the westbound lane. Officials also haven't announced if any charges will be filed.
In response to the crash, the Hays community has created fundraisers and rushed to support the families of the people involved in the crash.
Community members have created GoFundMe pages to raise money for Ulises’ family and Ryan's family, for a teacher with serious injuries and for all the families.
The Hays district plans to have counselors at Tom Green Elementary on Thursday for students and staff who want to talk to someone.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Tom Green Elementary School bus crash video released by Hays CISD
