Today is the sixth anniversary of the passing of Alivia Stahl, 9, center, and her twin brothers, Mason, left, and Xzavier Ingle. The three kids were killed in a school bus stop accident on SR 25 outside Rochester, and their parents, Shane and Brittany Ingle, are continuing to advocate for school bus safety. Photos provided by Brittany Ingle.

Text and Photos
By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

AKRON — Brittany Ingle notes all children “deserve a life, a chance to grow up.”

It’s a message she’d give drivers when they’re around school buses.

Ingle and her husband, Shane Ingle, of Akron lost three of their children, Alivia Stahl, and twins Mason and Xzavier Ingle, six years ago today in a school bus stop accident.

On Oct. 30, 2018, the three kids passed away after a driver hit them while the children were crossing the road to board their Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. bus on SR 25 outside Rochester.

Following the kids’ deaths, the Ingles worked for the passing of the MAXSTRONG Bill by the Indiana General Assembly authored by then-State Sen. Randy Head. Signed into law by Gov. Eric Holcomb in 2019, the law nicknamed with the kids’ first initials includes stiffer penalties for drivers who pass stopped school buses.

Ingle said she and Shane are honoring the children’s memory by continuing to maintain information online related to MAXSTRONG and “creating different promotional campaigns, whatever we can do to raise awareness.”

She added they were “taking a look at a lot of things from physical equipment to additional legislation” to help with school bus safety, but said she wasn’t ready to state anything specific yet.

Ingle noted school bus stop arm violations still have happened this year in Fulton County, citing information given out by Rochester Community Schools Superintendent Jana Vance and Caston School Corp. Superintendent Angie Miller in a Fulton County Chamber of Commerce State of the Schools update in August.

“It’s heart-breaking and makes me sick people are still risking children’s lives,” said Ingle.

She said she’d tell drivers to “please give yourself more time, be aware of your surroundings.”

“My husband and I live the nightmare daily without three of our beautiful children,” said Ingle. “My daughter, Alivia, and our sons, Mason and Xzavier, were recklessly killed six years ago, and that pain is devastating and unfathomable, but God helps us through. No parent should wake up with this daily heartache.”

In the midst of the couple’s pain, they received a “blessing” in September 2023 when their son, Psalm, was born, said Ingle. His name comes from Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Mason had a dog tag with the verse on it with him the day he passed away.

“It’s a perfect summary of how I am still standing here today,” said Ingle of the verse. “He has guided us through such darkness, and my son’s name is forever a tribute to God, thanking Him for saving me.”

“Psalm has brought immense blessings to our lives, filling us with much-needed love and joy and thriving wonderfully in the process,” she said.

Ingle said she believes Alivia, Mason and Xzavier “would be proud of my strength and courage, but not surprised, because they know that I will fight the world for them,” regarding her efforts to promote school bus safety.

“My Alivia would be so proud of my being a positive voice in keeping children safe,” she said. “She had so much love to give. To know her was to love her.”

Ingle said she prays “that one day … our local community will come together and unite to help save lives through helping to promote school bus safety.”

“As long as I’m breathing, my children will be remembered,” she added.