Three siblings were fatally struck by a pickup truck as they crossed a road to board a school bus early Tuesday morning.
Indiana State Police identified Alivia Stahl, 9, and her 6-year-old brothers Xzavier and Mason Ingle as victims in the Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation school bus stop crash that occurred near Rochester around 7 a.m.
“They were struck by southbound 2017 Toyota Tacoma driven by a 24-year-old female,” Indiana State Police Sgt. Tony Slocum told reporters at the scene as seen in a video obtained by the South Bend Tribune.
“The investigation has shown that a school bus was traveling northbound and stopped, put its stop-arm up and had all the emergency lighting that is on the bus activated. The children then started to cross into the roadway and they were struck by the southbound vehicle,” Slocum said of the Mentone Elementary School students.
A fourth child, 11-year-old Maverik Lowe, was also struck. He was transported to a Fort Wayne hospital in a medical helicopter and remains in critical condition. “He has multiple broken bones. My last report was that he was conscious so that’s a good thing,” according to Slocum. Maverik was not related to the children who were killed.
At the time of the incident, there were other children at the bus stop. No children were on the bus.
“It’s a very delicate situation. Just a very, very sad situation,” Slocum told reporters. “There are young children who might have witnessed a very catastrophic event. It’s a very hard scene. I haven’t seen troopers cry in a long time.”
Slocum added, “The father had to come out and identify his children, it was excruciating.”
The Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation released a statement on Facebook Tuesday morning.
“Our school corporation has suffered a tragedy this morning. We have learned of three student fatalities and one student seriously injured and airlifted to a Fort Wayne hospital as they were hit by a vehicle while boarding their bus,” the statement said. “We have deployed all school counselors to meet the emotional needs of our staff, students and parents. We are awaiting to learn more confirmed details but wish to ask the community to come together to pray for the families, our students and our staff.”
Authorities identified the driver as 24-year-old Alyssa Shepherd of Rochester, but it is unclear if she would face charges in the children’s deaths.
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