by WSBT 22
The woman accused in a deadly bus stop crash was in court Thursday, where she entered a preliminary not guilty plea.
24-year-old Alyssa Shepherd is accused of speeding past a bus stop arm, hitting four children and killing three of them.
The fourth victim is recovering right now in a Fort Wayne hospital.
The reckless homicide charges she faces have a sentence of 1-6 years. The charge of passing a stopped school bus resulting in injury has a sentence of up to 1 year.
The crash happened late last month just outside of Rochester.
On Thursday morning WSBT 22’s Katlin Connin spoke with the father of Alivia Stahl, one of the kids who was killed. He says he’s mourning the loss of his daughter but he has hope in the justice system. He says that threats against Alyssa Shepherd’s family need to stop.
“Myself, personally, I beg of you don’t do that,” said Michael Stahl. “It’s not helping the situation. It doesn’t help the prosecutors. It doesn’t help the justice system. It doesn’t help us. And it doesn’t do my daughter justice or the other people who are affected by this.”
He told us today — and the rest of the court process — is one of the hardest things he’s had to deal with.
The only thing that’s been harder was the funeral of his daughter and her two 6-year-old twin brothers Mason and Xzavier Ingle.
WSBT 22 has a reporter in the courtroom. Watch WSBT 22 News and stay with us online for updates.