Pair of Fatalities Puts Spotlight on Concrete Trucks

Editors note: This story has been updated.

Two separate road fatalities involving concrete trucks have been tied to driver impairment.

In March, a concrete pump veered into a school bus carrying 44 children and 11 adults in Bastrop County, Texas. The driver admitted to using cocaine the morning of the crash, according to news reports.

Nine lawsuits have been filed against the driver of the truck, according to CBS Austin. 

In a second incident earlier this month, a concrete mixer truck crashed into the rear of a Chevrolet Impala stopped behind a pickup truck in a work zone near Williamston, South Carolina. The Terex Advance mixer hit the car, which hit the pickup. News reports say the truck driver had been on his phone at the time of the crash.

Texas school bus fatality

The head-on crash in Texas killed one child and injured several others. A trailing car then crashed into the back of the bus, killing its driver.

According to a report by CBS Austin, the truck driver, 42-year-old Jerry Hernandez, said he was driving on three hours sleep and had taken cocaine the morning of the crash. The truck is owned by FJM Concrete Pumping, according to news reports.

Video released by the school district and shown by CBS Austin shows the truck crossing the double yellow line. As the bus driver attempts to avoid the crash, the truck hits the right front corner, causing the bus to roll over once before coming to rest upright. The bus did not have seat belts, according to reports.