Rochester schoolchildren die in tragic accident, hit by pickup while crossing the road to get on school bus
On the day before Halloween, 11 year old Maverik Lowe joined twin brothers Xzavier and Mason Ingle, both 6 years old, and the twins’ 9 year old sister, Alivia Stahl, at the roadside of North Indiana State Road 25 to wait for their school bus. The younger three were going to Mentone Elementary School; Maverik was on his way to Tippecanoe Valley Middle School.
Around 7:30 a.m., their school bus arrived, and the bus driver came to a stop. The red lights began flashing; the “stop arm” was extended (as reported by on-site media coverage). The four kids began crossing the rural road to get on the bus.
This is when 24-year-old Alyssa Shepherd came driving her pickup down State Road 25, going in the opposite direction of the school bus. The speed limit on the rural road is reportedly 55 mph.
She did not stop for the school bus; her truck slammed into the kids. The twin boys and their sister were declared dead at the scene of the accident. Maverik was airlifted to a Fort Wayne hospital where it was unknown if he would survive his injuries or not at the time this article was published.
Presumably, Alyssa Shepherd was on her way to work as children’s director for a Foursquare Gospel Church in Rochester. She reportedly has been arrested for reckless homicide, among other charges.
We Join All Hoosiers in Expressing Our Heartfelt Condolences to these Families Today
First things first, we stop today to express our sincere sympathies and heartfelt condolences to those grieving the loss of Xzavier, Mason, and Alivia. Our thoughts and prayers also go to the family of Maverik, in hopes that he achieves a full recovery from his crash injuries.
As people who have dedicated our lives to helping accident victims and their loved ones, as well as parents and as fellow Hoosiers, we are distraught by the news of this tragedy. We know many lives will never, ever be the same as a result of an event that probably took less than a minute on that road yesterday morning. Today is a dark day for all of Indiana.
Indiana School Bus Law: When Drivers Must Stop for School Buses
It is against Indiana state law for anyone to pass a school bus stopped on an Indiana roadway for the purpose of loading or unloading children. Usually, it does not matter which way the driver is traveling (either behind the bus or coming from the opposite direction).
The Indiana Department of Transportation explains the law divides the driver’s duty into three kinds of roads:
- Two Lanes
All drivers (“motorists”) must stop on any Indiana two lane road for the school bus when its red lights are flashing and the bus driver has extended the “stop arm” (see visual here).
- Multi-Lane, No Barrier
If the road has more than one lane going each way, but there is not a barrier between them (no grass, no concrete curbing, etc.) then all drivers must stop just as if they were on a two lane roadway. If the school bus has its red lights flashing and the “stop arm” is out, then the motorist must stop his or her vehicle.
- Multi-Lane, Barrier
On bigger roadways, where there are several lanes of traffic going in either direction and some kind of barrier divides the two routes then things are different. Only those drivers who are behind the school bus with its flashing red lights and extended “stop arm” must stop. The drivers on the other side of the barrier, going the other way, do not have to halt in these situations.
International Coverage of this Fulton County School Bus Accident
The horror of three elementary school kids dying while they were crossing the road to get on their school bus has spread across the country and the globe.
Media coverage has extended from the accident site (where the horror of the pickup truck’s damage communicates so much about the speed and the impact), to stories about the families themselves.
Go here to see IndyStar video of the accident site and crumbled front-end of the pickup truck.
Governor Holcomb tweeted his personal condolences for the accident. The Indiana State Police verified they are investigating the fatal crash on Twitter, as well. The National Traffic Safety Board has confirmed there will be a federal investigation, too.
Lesson Here For All Drivers: Fatal Accidents Can Happen in an Instant
No matter the extent of the news coverage, no one is suggesting that this horrific crash was intentional in any way. From our experience over the years advocating in the aftermath of deadly wrecks, truck crashes, and bus accidents, the event happens in an extremely short time and the driver who is later found to be legally liable is shocked and traumatized by what has happened.
Nevertheless, deadly car crashes happen that kill innocent victims here in Indiana and Illinois. All too often, a simple mistake or assumption ends up with fatal consequences. Negligence law exists to bring justice to accident victims after the unintended or neglectful acts of another causes serious or deadly harm.
GoFundMe Help for Indiana Families Devastated by Indiana School Bus Crash
The hearts of so many Hoosiers are breaking over this tragedy. Those wishing to help the victims’ families may be interested in the GoFundMe pages set up almost immediately by some caring folk in Rochester:
- Established by Tonya Andrews for the family of Alivia, Mason, and Xzavier: Familyof3KidsKilledatBusStop
- Established by Jocelynne Lowe on behalf of Kourtney Stone for Maverik’s family: Maverik Medical Bills and Relief.
GoFundMe is a free, online fundraising site providing donor protections. Anyone wishing to contribute may do so by name or anonymously.
Let’s Hug Our Kids and Learn From This Heartbreak
This horrible tragedy serves to warn all of us about how fast lives can end in senseless tragedies involving motor vehicle accidents. See, for instance, our discussions in:
- Danger of Fatal Child Pedestrian Accidents as Kids Go Back to School;
- Fatal Bus Crashes in Indiana and Illinois;
- Rising Danger of Pedestrian Accident Deaths: Hit by Motor Vehicle While Walking; and
- Fatal Car Crashes: 10 Times More Likely to Die on Rural Roads.
Let’s remember those grieving the devastating losses of these kids, Alivia, Mason, and Xzavier, as well as remembering Maverik and his family as this young boy fights to recover from his injuries. Let’s pray for the young woman who must live with the consequences of her actions on that rural road for the rest of her life, too.
Hug your kids. And let’s take a moment to consider the daily dangers that face us all on our roadways from things like speeding, distracted driving, and driving under the influence. Please be careful out there!
