3 children were tragically killed at a school bus stop in Indiana

On Tuesday morning, four children were struck by a car in Indiana. The children were trying to board a school bus when the incident occurred.

Three of the children died and they were identified as siblings. The fourth child, who wasn’t related to the other three, was airlifted to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Twin boys Xzavier and Mason Ingle, 6, and their sister, Alivia Stahl, 9, were trying to get on a bus near 4600 N State Road 25 in Rochester, Fulton County when they were struck and killed. Maverik Low, 11, was boarding with them when the incident occurred at about 7:15 a.m. but he survived.

The three siblings were students at Mentone Elementary School. According to the Indiana State Police, the Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. bus had stopped in front of a mobile home park in the 4600-block of State Road 25 to pick up the children.

For more on this story go to our Twitter account @amomama_usa. The bus had its stop arm extended and the exterior lights were flashing.

However, as the children crossed the road to board the bus, a 2017 Toyota Tacoma traveling southbound allegedly struck them. Alyssa Shepherd, 24, was the driver and she was charged with three felony counts of reckless homicide and one misdemeanor count of passing a school bus while its arm is extended, causing injury.

Shepherd, who is cooperating with officials, was held at the Fulton County Jail on a surety bond of $15,000. She was released shortly after 7 p.m.

Shepherd was identified as the children's director at Faith Outreach which is a Foursquare Gospel Church nearby in Rochester. Low was taken to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

There the boy underwent surgery for multiple broken bones and internal injuries. The three sibling’s uncle, Elgin Ingle, revealed how the distraught family was dealing with the tragedy.

He said:

"He didn't lose one kid. He lost all of his kids. What do you tell your little brother, who's gonna get better? You can't.”

Monika Manuszak, a neighbor recalled the tragic accident saying:

"I saw the pickup truck completely smashed in and I thought, 'Ok, somebody hit somebody else' and then I saw the school bus and I saw the two little bodies laying on the ground.”

The children’s uncle also shared that he’s watched their father change his life only to lose his children "because someone wasn't paying attention."

Indiana State Police Sergeant Tony Slocum said:

"I haven't seen first responders and troopers cry in a long time. When the children's father had to make identification of his children, that was just gut-wrenching. We saw tears today and our hearts just go out to them because most of us have children and we can't imagine the pain that he felt today. It was heartbreaking It's still heartbreaking."

On the day of the incident, the school corporation issued a statement:

"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. 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."

Last month in Geelong, southwest of Melbourne, Australia, two young girls, aged 2 and 3, were killed after smoke filled the front bedroom of their home because of a fire. The unnamed girls suffered from smoke inhalation and died shortly after 8 a.m. at a hospital shortly.

A third child, 6-months-old, was in another room when the incident happened and she was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Authorities believed that the fire was started when one of the children’s toys fell on a small bar heater.

The heater had been turned on by one of the girls’ parents.