Woman Who Fatally Hit 3 Kids From One Family Trying To Board School Bus Released Early

An Indiana woman who struck and killed three siblings with her vehicle while failing to yield to a stopped school bus has been released from prison early.

Alyssa Shepherd, 27, was released from the Rockville Correctional Facility on Wednesday after serving a little over two years of her original four-year sentence, Law&Crime reports.

She had fatally struck 9-year-old Alivia Stahl and her 6-year-old twin half-brothers Xzavier and Mason Ingle in 2018 as the children were crossing the road to board a school bus. A fourth child, 11-year-old Maverik Lowe, was also injured in the collision. The school bus' red lights were flashing and the stop arm was activated but Shepherd didn't stop and struck the children.

A year after the crash, Shepherd was convicted of three counts of reckless homicide, one count of criminal recklessness for aggressive driving resulting in serious bodily injury, and one count of passing a school bus with the arm extended resulting in serious bodily injury. She was ordered to serve four years in prison.

But Shepherd, a mother of two, got her sentence cut by six months after she completed a Bible study course while behind bars, Law&Crime reports. She must now serve three years of home detention before serving another three years' worth of detention. She reportedly plans to work at a coffee shop owned by her parents.

Brittany Ingle, the mother of the three children who died in the collision, told WBND-LD that she was “in shock” over the early release.

“She saw me screaming over my dead children’s body and showed no mercy,” the mother stated. “Alyssa Shepherd not only stole the lives of my three children, she destroyed my family.”

She added, “We knew this day was coming. We just didn’t expect it to come this fast.”

Ingle emphasized that she felt that Shepherd “has not accepted the role of responsibility for my children’s death.”

“She’s had enough time, if she cared enough to reach out or write a letter or have our attorney,” she said. “I mean, she’s done nothing to you know, advocate for school bus safety.”

The children’s grandfather, Michael Schwab, echoed the mother’s sentiment.

“The story never ends for the family,” Schwab told the South Bend Tribune. “This is a life sentence for our family. Though she was granted early release and allowed to return to her family, there is no early release for our family and the children won’t be returning to us.”