It wounds me to see a young person have their life ruined. We all
make stupid mistakes in the course of life. Lord knows I do. I believe in and
try to practice forgiveness and compassion. With that said, the woman in the
following story, Alyssa Shepherd, needs to be punished far more than she has
been.
I understand that she is only 25, that she has two young daughters
and probably no criminal record, but four years in jail for running over and
killing three children and crippling another isn’t punishment, it’s a joke.
Four years in prison actually means four years minus time served
and one third of the sentence, around a year and a quarter, immediately removed for good
behavior. A civil case for monetary damages needs to be brought against her as
well.
An Indiana woman was sentenced to prison on Wednesday after she
killed three siblings who were trying to board a school bus last year — and the
kids' grief-stricken mother lunged at the woman in court.
Alyssa Shepherd, 25, was sentenced to four years in prison, three
years of house arrest and three years of probation after she killed the
children — Xzavier and Mason Ingle, 6-year-old twin brothers, and Alivia Stahl,
their 9-year-old sister — on Oct. 31, 2018.
As the children were crossing State Road 25, a two-lane highway in
Rochester, to board the school bus, Shepherd plowed into them.
Alyssa Shepherd, 25, was sentenced to four years in prison on Wednesday
for killing twins Xzavier and Mason Ingle, 6, and their sister, Alivia Stahl,
9, in 2018.
She said in court earlier this year she remembered seeing blinking
lights and a large vehicle, but didn't realize the vehicle was a bus and didn't
see the red stop sign on the side of the bus. Shepherd made the same claims
during her arrest. She said she was hysterical and in disbelief afterward, and
that she didn't see the children until they were right in front of her.
In addition to the three deaths, Maverik Lowe, 11, also was left
in critical condition. Since the accident, he has undergone more than 20
surgeries.
Shepherd plowed into the children with her truck after she claimed
she didn't see them while they were crossing State Road 25 in Indiana to board
the school bus.
Fulton County Prosecutor Michael Marrs said the bus stop had been
in place for 50 years and no child had been killed there before. Marrs also
mentioned the testimony of the driver behind Shepherd, who said she could tell
up ahead there was a school bus with its warning lights on and stop arm
extended.
In the Fulton County courtroom Wednesday, Shepherd was sentenced
and her driver's license suspended for 10 years. The children's' mother,
Brittany Ingle, lunged toward Shepherd during the sentencing and was escorted
out in handcuffs then charged with misdemeanor battery.
The victim's family said they were disappointed in the sentencing,
adding that Shepherd should've received the maximum sentence, which was 21.5
years in prison. Shepherd, who has two children of her own, apologized in court
and said her "heart breaks for the families who feel the loss."
“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 said Wednesday, according to 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.”
The Indiana Legislature increased penalties for drivers who
illegally pass stopped school buses following the crash.