Xzavier Ingle, 6, Mason Ingle, 6, and Alivia Stahl, 9, all siblings, died after being hit. A fourth child, 11-year-old Maverik Lowe, was flown to a hospital to undergo emergency surgery.
Police officers said that Shepherd ignored the bus’s lights and stop arm and tried to speed past the vehicle when she hit the children.
In addition to three felony charges for reckless homicide, she was charged with one misdemeanor count for passing a school bus, with the stop arm extended, causing injury. If found guilty, she could face up to 18 years in prison, reported ABC 57.
Shepherd was arrested at her workplace in Rochester on Oct. 30 at around 4 p.m. and was released later Tuesday on a $15,000 bond.
She also worked as a cheerleading coach at a public school and at a gymnastics school and a summer camp.
Family Devastated
The family of the dead children was left devastated by the loss.“He didn’t lose one kid, he lost all of his kids,” the children’s uncle Elgin Ingle, referring to their father and his brother, told Fox 59.
“What do you tell your little brother, how do you tell your little brother it’s going to get better? You can’t,” he said.
He said that the deaths happened in an area that had prompted complaints from parents because the students had to walk across a busy road.
“You’re supposed to be able to go to your bus stop and be safe, you’re supposed to get on the bus and be safe,” Elgin Ingle said.
The children’s father was at work at the time of the crash and had to rush home to identify his children, the great-aunt of the children, Pamela Pugh, told the Tribune.
“I’m stunned. I’m just trying to make sense of all of it,” Pugh said. “There are no words.”
