Crash in school crash bus driver killed 3 siblings

Three children were killed when they were killed by a school bus, police said.

Identical twin 6-year-old brothers, Xzavier and Mason Ingle, and their 9-year-old sister Alivia Stahl were killed in the incident on a rural road in Indiana, said Sgt. Tony Slocum, the public information officer for the Indiana State Police.

An 11-year-old boy, Maverik Lowe, suffered multiple broken bones, said Slocum.

The driver of the truck pickup, Alyssa Shepherd, 24, taken into custody Tuesday, December 14th, 2011 at 1:15 pm, and one misdemeanor count of disregarding a stop sign and cause injury, officials told ABC News. Shepherd was taken to the Fulton County Jail but was released Tuesday night we have $ 15,000 surety bond, evening jail supervising officer Adam Roop told ABC News.

The incident occurred around 7:15 am in Rochester, Fort Wayne, Slocum told reporters at the scene. The injured boy was taken to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne by Slocum said.

The twins' father came to the scene and identified his children, Slocum said.

"Our hearts just break for the families involved in this tragic situation, and our prayers obviously go out to them," Slocum said. "It was a tough day to watch that it's been a while ago. situation dictated. "

The four children were crossing a two-lane road from a mobile home park where they lived to get their school bus when they were struck by a Toyota Tacoma truck, police said. A preliminary investigation showed the yellow school bus was in the northbound lane of State Road with its emergency lights flashing and its stop-sign arm when children were struck by the southbound truck, Slocum said.

Shepherd of Rochester stayed at the scene and cooperated with police, said Slocum.

The NTSB has launched a "go team" of investigators to look into the crash. More than six federal investigators will arrive in Rochester Wednesday to find out how the children were killed, an NTSB spokesperson told ABC News.

The agency will be able to keep children safe while embarking and disembarking a school bus, officials said.

All of the children attended Mentone Elementary school in nearby Mentone, Indiana, where Alivia made the honor roll in January.

Slocum said the Shepherd submitted to a blood test to determine if drugs or alcohol were involved. He said investigators interviewed her, but he declined to disclose what she said about the crash.

"We do not know why this crash happened here," Slocum said.

Aerial photos from ABC's affiliate WLS-TV in Chicago showed a pickup truck with heavy front-end damage at the scene.

The Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation posted a statement on Facebook after the incident.

"Our school corporation has suffered a tragedy this morning." We have learned to study the situation in the United States of America. the schoolchildren of our staff, students and parents, "the school wrote on Facebook. "We are awaiting to learn more about our family, our students and our staff."

ABC News' Jeffrey Cook and Darren Reynolds contributed to this report.