. Crash location on SR-25, where students cross the road to the school bus pickup
location (Source: Fulton County Sheriff’s Office).

FULTON COUNTY — The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary report regarding the fatal accident that killed Xzavier and Mason Ingle and their sister, Alivia Stahl, and seriously injured Maverik Lowe on Oct. 30.

The report states that a 2014 school bus stopped in the 4600 block of SR 25 to pick up students at the designated location when a pickup truck traveling south, driven by Alyssa Shepherd, struck the children who were crossing the roadway in the early morning darkness. According to the report, the school bus has its warning lights on and the driver had deployed the stop arm.

It was noted in the report that the speed limit on this roadway is 55 mph and there is no roadway lighting at this location. There are “Watch For School Bus” and “Left Curve” warning signs posted for southbound traffic, the direction the pickup truck was traveling.

The report states, “The NTSB continues to gather information on the student transportation policies of the Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation, the planning and development of bus routes and the safety issues related to school bus loading and unloading of students on high-speed highways.”

The NTSB is also investigating two other crashes involving school bus loading and unloading in Hartsfield, Ga. and Baldwyn, Miss. In both accidents, school children were fatally injured.

All aspects of the Fulton County crash remain under investigation as the NTSB focuses on determining the probable cause, with the intent of issuing safety recommendations to prevent similar crashes.

Crash-involved pickup truck that struck students crossing SR-25 (Source: Fulton County
Sheriff’s Office).