Woman Sentenced After Plowing Into 3 Students Boarding School Bus

An Indiana woman was sentenced to prison after she was found guilty of the bus stop crash that killed three children last year.

Alyssa Shepherd, 25, was sentenced to 4 years in prison, 3 years of house arrest and 3 years of probation after having killed three siblings who were crossing State Road 25, a two-lane highway in Rochester, to board the school bus on Oct. 31.

Xzavier and Mason Ingle, 6-year-old twin brothers, and Alivia Stahl, their 9-year-old sister died in the crash, while Maverik Lowe, 11, was left in critical condition, Fox News reported.

In the Fulton County courtroom Wednesday, Judge Greg Heller handed down Shepherd's sentence and suspended her license for 10 years. The victim’s family, who thought Shepherd should receive a maximum sentence of 21.5 years in prison, said they were not satisfied with the sentence.

“We all feel as a family that killing three children should have been a more stringent penalty, but we’re glad that she is going to get some time served,” Michael Schwab, the grandfather of the children told USA Today. “Children remain our greatest gift and if you’re not going to hold people accountable when they get hurt, then we may as well just get rid of laws.”

The children’s mother, Brittany Ingle, lunged at Shepherd at the courtroom after the sentence was passed. She was restrained and charged with misdemeanor battery.

During her arrest, Shepherd said she did not realize the large vehicle with blinking lights was a bus. She added that she was in disbelief afterward as she didn’t see the children until they were right in front of her vehicle. She made similar claims during her trial.

Shepherd was convicted in October on three counts of reckless homicide, one count of passing a school bus causing injury and one count of criminal recklessness resulting in serious bodily injury, USA Today reported.

Fulton County Prosecutor Michael Marrs said that no child had been killed before at the bus stop which has been there for 50 years.

“If people are going to drive like that, they are going to jail or prison, to some extent, that’s been done in this case,” Marrs told WSBT. “But, you know, people need to understand you can’t just drive any way you want. You’ve got to be responsible. There’s laws against reckless behavior, and if you’re not going to follow it, you’re going to be prosecuted.”