Bus Stop Accident

It is a heartbreaking scene to find out that yet another child has lost their life.

With a bright future full of possibilities ahead of them, any loss of one so young is truly and utterly unacceptable.

No parent should have to watch their child’s life wrenched away before their due date.

Already it is sad enough an occasion when a parent outlives their child – it is gut-wrenching when it is all your children that die together in one fell swoop.

For these two particular parents, the 30th of October is now a date forever marred by the injustice of the universe when their children’s lives were taken away from them.

Every day, nine-year-old Indiana girl Alivia Stahl would take her younger twin brothers, six-year-olds Mason and Xzavier Ingle, to the bus station.

She was a loving older sister, who would take her siblings by the hand all the way to the bus stop and up into the school bus as well.

Image Credit: Sean Lewis – Twitter

So when a pickup truck speeding along the highway crashed head-first into the school bus, it was only natural that the first thing this brave little girl thought to do was to shield her brothers.

Alas, as awe-inspiring as her split-second decision was, it turned out to be a futile one.

The 24-year-old pickup driver, Alyssa Shepherd, would soon be slammed with three charges for reckless homicide – one for each of the children – and an extra one for attempting to pass a school bus while it had its arm extended.

Image Credit: Elgin Ingle

Shepherd claims that she hadn’t seen the flashing lights of the school bus until it was too late to stop in time.

Regardless of her reasoning, however, her negligence has led to the direct death of three children and serious injuries on another 11-year-old girl.

The scene of the children laid out across the highway was one so heartbreaking, it moved the first responders and troops who arrived at the scene of the crime to tears.

Image Credit: Elgin Ingle

A significant event, considering that these brave people are far too used to dealing with the horrors that are death and destruction up close and personal.

The response is entirely understandable – these were young children whose lives have been lost.

Not only is the loss of a life (especially that of a young one) tragic in and of itself, it is a fear that hits too close to home for many of these people.

Just about everyone has a child they care about in some form in their lives – it is far too easy to imagine said child being one of the dead ones at this accident scene.

Elgin Ingle, the children’s uncle, is as stricken with grief and heartache as is the children’s parents.

The statement he brings up drives the point home just how gut-wrenching this whole situation is – just how are you supposed to react as the mother when you see the bodies of all your children strewn across the highway?

Image Credit: Elgin Ingle

This is an event that this family will never forget, but hopefully, they will be able to find closure.

In the meantime, let us hope that such a tragedy will never happen again.

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