SR 25 west of Talma was the scene of a fatal crash involving school children, Oct. 30.

TALMA — As a community continues to struggle with the senseless loss of three children in a school bus stop accident near the small town of Talma, the need for improved safety at bus stops is becoming evident across the nation.

In the past two days, more children have been struck by vehicles at school bus stops, including an elementary school-aged boy in Mississippi who was killed on Wednesday.

“I am establishing a transportation safety review committee, which will examine all of our bus stop locations to ensure our children are transported safely,” said Tippecanoe Valley Superintendent Blaine Conley on Wednesday following the Tuesday crash that killed twin six-year-old brothers Xzavier and Mason Ingle and their nine-year-old sister, Alivia Stahl and critically injured 11-year-old Maverik Lowe.

Three children and two adults were hit by a car while waiting at a bus stop in Tampa, Fla. on Thursday morning, Nov. 1 and nine-year-old Dalen Thomas died as a result of injuries sustained when he was walking across a highway in northeast Mississippi and was hit by a pickup at about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 31.

On Tuesday morning, Oct. 30, police say 24-year-old Alyssa Shepherd was driving home from dropping her husband off at work when she struck the four children crossing SR 25 to board a bus driven by bus driver Robert Reid. Shepherd’s full-sized pickup truck showed extensive front-end damage at the scene. Police reported that Reid had engaged all the safety lights and signage, which includes a stop arm. Shepherd told police she saw the lights, but said she didn’t realize what they were until she was already upon the children. The probable cause affidavit stated that the driver behind Shepherd, known only as Maggie, told police she recognized the school bus early on, but soon saw that Shepherd’s vehicle was not slowing down and saw the children illuminated by the headlights of Shepherd’s truck.

Shepherd has been charged with three counts of reckless homicide, level 5 felonies, and one misdemeanor count of passing a school bus. Her charges could garner 19 years in prison.

In light of Tuesday’s tragedy and more incidents elsewhere in the country, Scott Manning, a strategic communication director for the Indiana Department of Transportation said providing added safety to school children could become a hot topic very quickly.

“I think it’s fair to ask whether or not this will spark the question of school bus stop safety, certainly here in Indiana, but also on a larger scale as well,” said Manning.

Sgt. Tony Slocum, a public information officer with the Indiana State Police who responded to media at Tuesday’s scene, said he also hopes a ramping up of dialogue about school bus stop safety happens soon.

“Obviously nothing is more important than the safety of our most vulnerable, our children,” Slocum said on Thursday, Nov. 1.

While the community of Mentone will gather Friday night, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m. at the Mentone Youth League to honor the three siblings killed in Tuesday’s accident, Maverik Lowe has reportedly given permission to post updates on his condition in a Fort Wayne hospital via a Facebook page, located at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1828485350601690/about/

Within the first day of the crash, Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation moved the bus stop in the area to the mobile home park and off the busy state highway, where a speed limit of 55 miles per hour had caused nervousness among residents prior to the tragedy.