Father of victim in deadly Rochester bus stop crash speaks out

ROCHESTER, Ind. – The father of the young girl killed in the Fulton County bus stop crash spoke out after a courthouse hearing.

Alivia Stahl, 9, and her twin brothers Mason and Xzavier Ingle, both 6, were all killed while crossing the road to get to their bus stop last month.

Alyssa Shepherd, 24, plead not guilty on Thursday morning to three felony counts of reckless homicide and one misdemeanor count of driving around a school bus with a stop arm extended.

Shepherd could face up to 19 years in prison if she is convicted on the three counts of reckless homicide.

ABC57 was at the Fulton County Courthouse for reactions.

Shepherd and her family were seen quickly exiting the courthouse after dodging cameras following her initial hearing.

Alivia’s father Michael Stahl was at the courthouse on Thursday morning and had words to say about the situation.

“Her family? I feel for them. I hurt for them. They have nothing to do with this at all. When it comes to Alyssa, it’s a mixed emotion. I just can't, I can't even,” said Stahl.

Stahl also said that he has seen threats to Shepherd and her family online and he encouraged people to stop.

"It doesn't do my daughter justice or other people affected by this. It only makes it worse. Hold faith in our justice system, they're going to do the right thing. I believe the right thing will come,” said Stahl.

Shepherd’s pretrial conference is scheduled for Feb. 5th of 2019.

For Michael Stahl, the grief of losing his daughter is something he said he will always struggle with.

"It's the worst thing in the world,” said Stahl. "People say, ‘you know you'll get past this.’ There's no getting past this. It's merely learning to accept, cope, and live with it."