Woman's early release in deadly school bus crash opposed

ROCHESTER, Ind. (AP) - A northern Indiana prosecutor is seeking to block the early prison release of a woman convicted in a 2018 crash that killed three siblings who were crossing a rural highway to board a school bus.

Fulton County Prosecutor Mike Marrs filed a motion Thursday seeking to prevent Alyssa Shepherd's early release. She was sentenced in 2019 to four years in prison after being convicted of three counts of reckless homicide, criminal recklessness and passing a school bus, causing injury.

Marrs said Shepherd has already cut six months off her sentence by successfully completing a faith-based, self-improvement class, and she could get up to 90 additional days off for 'œCommunity Involvement.'ť

'œWe just don't feel like it's justice. It just further erodes the justice system,'ť Marrs said Thursday during a rally for the crash victims at the Fulton County Courthouse, WSBT-TV reported.

Shepherd was driving her pickup truck when she plowed into the four children on Oct. 30, 2018, as they crossed two-lane State Road 25 in Rochester to board a school bus. The crash killed 6-year-old twin brothers Xzavier and Mason Ingle, and their 9-year-old sister, Alivia Stahl, and seriously injured a fourth child.

Shepherd told authorities she didn't realize that she was approaching a stopped school bus, despite its activated stop arm and flashing lights.

A judge is expected to rule on Marrs' motion in the next month to decide if Shepherd will get out of prison by Dec. 20 or if she will not be released until March, WTHR-TV reported.

Brittany Ingle, the mother of the three children killed in the crash, said she hopes the judge prevents more time from being shaved off of Shepherd's prison time.

'œAgain, you cannot buy way your way out of hell no matter what good deeds you choose to do for your own selfish reasons,'ť she said.