Fundraiser launched for UT student killed in bus crash in Bastrop County

A GoFundMe for the family of Ryan Wallace, the graduate student killed in a school bus crash in Bastrop County, has raised more than $13,000.

Wallace, 33, was one of two people killed when a cement truck veered out of its lane and struck a Hays Consolidated Independent School District bus last Friday, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Wallace was driving a vehicle behind the bus and crashed into either the bus or the truck after the initial collision, according to DPS officials.

The bus was carrying 44 preschoolers from Tom

Green Elementary and 11 adults, and was returning from a field trip to the Bastrop Zoo. One student, Ulises Rodriguez Montoya, 5, was also killed in the crash. The school, which is in Buda, is part of the Hays Consolidated Independent School District.

Wallace was a doctoral candidate at the University of Texas at Austin and was two weeks away from defending his dissertation, according to the GoFundMe, which was created by journalism professor Kathleen McElroy.

The campaign exceeded its initial goal of $7,500 in one day.

“All of the funds raised here will be given directly to Ryan’s family to help expenses associated with his sudden death,” the fundraising campaign said. “Ryan’s family, mostly based in California, has been in contact with journalism and media faculty and approves of this effort.”

According to a student spotlight from the Moody College of Communication, Wallace was passionate about science communication. He designed a course called “Science and the News,” and had been tutoring for years. He had a bachelor’s degree from University of California, Irvine in ecology and evolutionary biology and a master’s degree in biotechnology from California State University San Marcos.

Fundraisers for the family of Ulises, the student who died in the crash and for other students on the bus have also received thousands of dollars in donations.

A GoFundMe for funeral expenses for Ulises, which was created by a relative, has raised nearly $90,000. A campaign started by a former Tom Green teacher has raised over $100,000. That money will be used “to help students and staff with expenses related to healing, offsetting funeral expenses for the student who passed away, and other unexpected expenses incurred by families affected by the accident,” the school district said.