ROCHESTER, Ind. (WTHR/AP) — The National Transportation Safety Board said a northern Indiana school district is partially to blame for a 2018 crash that killed three siblings crossing a rural highway to reach their stopped school bus.
The NTSB said Tuesday the crash near Rochester was caused by a pickup truck driver’s failure to stop for the school bus, despite its activated and clearly visible warning lights and stop arm. However, it said Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation's inadequate safety assessment of school bus routes also contributed to the crash.
That resulted in a prevalence of bus stops that required students to cross high-speed roadways to board a bus.
The crash happened the morning of Oct. 30, 2018 in Fulton County, Indiana. Nine-year-old Alivia Stahl and her 6-year-old twin brothers, Mason and Xzavier Ingle, were the victims. An 11-year-old boy named Maverik Lowe was also injured in the crash but has recovered.
Alyssa Shepherd, 25, was sentenced to 10 years in December 2019 on reckless homicide, criminal recklessness and passing a school bus causing injury charges.
In January, Shepherd filed a notice of appeal for the serving that would include four years in corrections, three years in home detention and three years on probation.
