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8 months ago
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Distressing dashcam footage has emerged showing the moment a Texas school bus collides with a concrete truck that veered into its path, killing a five year-old boy.
The incident happened on March 22 when a Hays County school district bus, which was carrying pre-K students at the time, was struck by the truck on Highway 21.
Students had been returning from a field trip to the Bastrop Zoo, with 44 children onboard and 11 adults at the time of the incident.
The cement truck can be seen crossing the center line from the bus's dash cam and clips the back of the bus a few seconds later.
After the strike, the bus is seen swerving, before flipping over and landing back on its wheels.
Five-year-old student Ulises Rodriguez Montoya was killed in the collision as a result of his injuries, as well as Ryan Wallace, 33, who had been driving behind the bus.
Footage of the collision shows the driver of the bus attempting to veer into the hard shoulder of the highway as the large truck barrels towards it
Five-year-old student Ulises Rodriguez Montoya was killed in the collision as a result of his injuries
Ryan Wallace, 33, died after his vehicle was also involved in the collision. He had been driving behind the school bus at the time
Aerial footage taken after the collision shows debris scattered across the highway, as the mangled bus sits stationery with police surrounding it.
According to KVUE, the investigation into the crash is currently still under investigation, with officials in Texas saying that no charges had yet been filed.
The school district said the bus involved, which was carrying staff and pupils from Tom Green Elementary School, was not equipped with seatbelts.
Texas legislature in 2017 made it a requirement for districts to start buying buses with seatbelts, but the bus involved was a 2011 model bus.
The district said that all injured students had been released from hospital as of Monday, with one staff member still receiving care, according to CBS.
Law enforcement officials have yet to publicly identify the driver of the truck, what company owns it, or why the driver veered out of their lane.
In tribute to Montoya, Naira Solis Shears, his teacher said: 'He had a talent for drawing and his favorite thing to draw was dinosaurs.
'He could almost completely spell the word dinosaur, which demonstrates how smart he was. He always had a dinosaur drawn on all of the assignments he turned in.
'He liked to tell stories and shared many with his friends and family. Above all - he was a loving child.' The little boy's family added that he loved the color green and attending school.
Students had been returning from a field trip to the Bastrop Zoo, with 44 children onboard and 11 adults at the time of the incident
After the initial hit, the bus can be seen tumbling across the highway while another vehicle behind the bus is also seen after being hit by the truck
A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper inspects the scene of the fatal school bus crash
Wallace had been a student at the University of Texas, and was working towards his Ph.D.
Faculty at the University described him to KVUE as being 'positive, kind and optimistic'.
Professor Kathleen McElroy told the outlet: 'He developed this undergraduate course. It was very successful, and I think he had a really warm way of taking very heady subjects and making them digestible for young folks. And that's a gift.'
His family said in a statement: 'We do not have the words to express the immense and tragic loss that we are feeling after an individual plowed through the heart of our family and upturned the homes of so many others.
'Ryan had finally found a rhythm and was genuinely feeling very happy & thankful for the life that he worked so hard to build.'
Fundraisers have been set up for the family of the young boy and of Wallace to help their families cover funeral expenses.
Aerial footage taken after the collision shows debris scattered across the highway, as the mangled bus sits stationery with police surrounding it
Officers can be seen investigating the wreck of the school bus following the incident last week
The school district said that all injured students had been released from hospital as of Monday
Miriam Loredo, Montoya's aunt, said in a post to her GoFundMe: 'Our hearts are broken right now, our nephew lost his life on March 22 as he was coming back home from an enjoyable field day he had from school.
'He was such a lovely child, was always happy and was just an innocent kid. He now leaves his family in so much pain, please help us to make this a little less stressful for them as they are very devastated at this time.'
Since being launched five days ago, the fundraiser has already hit over $85,000 in donations.
A similar fundraiser was set up by Professor McElroy for Wallace, which has so far collected over $11,000 in two days.
Families were alerted to the crash and spent agonizing hours awaiting reunification with their children.
People are transported from a fatal school bus crash near Austin - the class of preschoolers were returning from a visit to the zoo
A little girl is transported from a fatal school bus crash on Texas State Highway 21 near Caldwell Road on Friday
Families reunite with their children at Tom Green Elementary in Buda, Texas, after pre-K students from the school were involved in a bus roll-over crash
For many of the children on the bus, the crash was a tragic ending to their first field trip.
According to one local KXAN report, Hector Campos said receiving the phone call Friday that his daughter's school bus had been in an accident was 'the worst feeling in the world.'
'You never think you would get one, and for me, my heart sunk right away.'
The concerned father says he rushed to the crash site, where he waited hours to see if his daughter was okay.
'It was just complete chaos there. It was very hard,' he said. His daughter, Caliana, walked away from the fatal crash with just a few scratches.
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