WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has declared Texas-licensed commercial driver Jerry Hernandez to be an imminent hazard to public safety and ordered him to immediately cease operating any commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in interstate or intrastate commerce.
Hernandez was served the federal order on March 29.
On March 22, Hernandez was operating a large concrete pumping for FJM Concrete Pumping when he crossed the center line and hit an oncoming school bus transporting pre-K students, according to the FMCSA report.
As a result of the crash, the school bus flipped over and a 5-year-old child was killed, the 33-year-old driver of a car behind the bus was killed, and dozens of passengers were injured.
Following the crash, Hernandez admitted to the investigating law enforcement officers that he had smoked marijuana the night before the crash and had used cocaine in the early morning hours before the crash, the report notes.
Under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs), drivers with a commercial driver’s license (CDL) are subject to a variety of prohibitions on use of controlled substances and must successfully complete a return to duty process following any positive drug test.
Prior to the crash, Hernandez had been prohibited from operating CMVs three times for drug use, and he was currently prohibited from operating CMVs at the time of the crash based on an April 2023 positive test which revealed he had been using cocaine. Hernandez is listed as “prohibited” in FMCSA’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, and FMCSA is working with the state of Texas to disqualify his CDL.
FMCSA’s Imminent Hazard Disqualification Order states that Hernandez’s “blatant violations of the FMCSRs and disregard for the safety of the motoring public demonstrated by these actions substantially increases the likelihood of serious injury or death to you and the motoring public.”
Failing to comply with the provisions of the Federal Imminent Hazard Disqualification Order may result in civil penalties of up to $6,974. Knowing and/or willful violations may result in criminal penalties.
A copy of the Imminent Hazard Order issued to Jerry Hernandez is available here.
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
