ROCHESTER, Indiana — The woman accused of crashing into four Indiana children as they crossed the street to get on a school bus pleaded not guilty Thursday morning, according to ABC 57 News in South Bend.
The suspect, 24-year-old Alyssa Shepherd, had previously told police she saw the lights from the bus but didn't realize what it was until the kids were in front of her. She has been charged with three counts of reckless homicide and one count of disregarding the stop arms on a school bus causing injury.
The crash happened Oct. 30, near the intersection of State Road 25 and CR 400 N in Fulton County.
Police say Shepherd was driving a Toyota Tacoma on State Road 25 sometime after 7 a.m. when she allegedly "disregarded" the stop arm and lights on a stopped school bus in front of a mobile home park, striking four kids who were crossing the street to board the bus.
Alivia Stahl, 9, and her twin brothers, Xzavier and Mason Ingle, 6, were all pronounced dead at the scene.
A fourth child was also hit. Maverik Lowe, 11, was hospitalized. His family said he "continues to improve."
A pretrial conference for Shepherd has been scheduled for Feb. 5, 2019, ABC 57 reported.