NTSB to Issue Findings on Fatal Indiana School Bus Crossing Incident

March 10, 2020

Photo from the NTSB report on State Route 25 in the aftermath of three siblings being hit and killed by a motorist who illegally passed the stopped school bus in rural Rochester County, Indiana. (Source: Fulton County Sheriff’s Office.)

The National Transportation Safety Board announced a meeting next month to determine the probable cause of a fatal 2018 collision of a pickup truck with four children who were crossing the roadway to their waiting school bus.

The motorist, Alyssa L. Shepherd, 24, was sentenced to four years in prison last month after being convicted in October on three counts of reckless homicide and one count of criminal recklessness.

She illegally passed the Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation bus on Oct. 30, 2018, and killed three students, twin boys and their stepsister. A fourth boy was also struck and was seriously injured.

NTSB said Shepherd failed to stop for the school bus on the two-lane State Rural Road 25 in rural Fulton County. The posted speed limit is 55 mph.

The federally mandated school bus stop arm was deployed and red lights were flashing at the time of the early morning collision.

Twin brothers Xzavier and Mason Ingle, 6, and their stepsister Alivia Stahl, 9, were pronounced dead at the scene. Maverik Lowe, 11, suffered multiple broken bones and internal injuries.

The April 10 NTSB meeting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Eastern in Washington, D.C. The meeting will also be aired online.