GUILTY IN - Three Children Killed at School Bus Stop, Fulton County, Rochester, 30 Oct 2018 *Arrest*

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Does anyone know if there will be media coverage via camera in the courtroom? I’ve looked but couldn’t find it mentioned in any article. TIA
 
Trial updates:
(snp'd for copyright)
At 9:18 AM, both counsels made their remarks. First was from Fulton County Chief Prosecutor Mike Marrs, who is speaking on behalf of the State of Indiana. He says the case comes down to “one simple thing, reckless actions.” Marrs stated that evidence will show that Shepherd saw a “large object” on the road and does not attempt to slow down. He went on to say that Shepherd had at least a quarter-of-a-mile of distance on the road to where the school bus was stopped out and had the stop sign out, stop arm out and the red lights flashing, adding that she had time to react.
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(BBM for focus)
The third witness was 18-year old Maggie Harding, who was the driver of the vehicle behind Shepherd’s truck. She and her 15-year old brother were heading into Rochester for school when the incident happened. Arndt asked if Harding could see the school bus coming around the corner, to which she replied that she did. She also said she saw the red lights flashing and could tell it was a bus almost immediately, and began to slow down as she approached the stop.

When asked about what she saw with Shepherd’s truck, she saw the truck hit the kids and couldn’t recall if the truck’s brake lights came on. She said her brother was crying and she was screaming when they saw it. She said that she stopped and did not move her vehicle for “awhile.”
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WEDNESDAY UPDATES: Alyssa Shepherd Trial - News Now Warsaw
 
Court adjourned for the day, here is a link to afternoon updates. (BBM)

Paige said he manually set a dash camera to have settings that would be “within the ballpark” of what a human eye would see. In watching the video, you can see the headlights of the school bus coming around a corner, but you don’t see the flashing lights immediately. From the time of first sight of lights to when the vehicle was passing the bus, 15 seconds had passed. Through the investigation, it was estimated that Shepherd’s truck was approaching the bus around 60 miles per hour.
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WEDNESDAY UPDATES: Alyssa Shepherd Trial - News Now Warsaw
 
Gardenista said:
The other vehicle that saw the lights and stopped is bad for the defense.
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You know what else I think might be bad? She called her friend, who is a 911 dispatcher, and explained to her what happened. Her friend, working in the LE field, could have coached her as to what to to say and what not to say. I also wonder if her sibling, whose age I don't know, is going to testify as well. He was in the truck, too, along with her small children.It will be a travesty of justice if he is not called by the prosecution, unless he is too young.
 
Alleykins said:
You know what else I think might be bad? She called her friend, who is a 911 dispatcher, and explained to her what happened. Her friend, working in the LE field, could have coached her as to what to to say and what not to say. I also wonder if her sibling, whose age I don't know, is going to testify as well. He was in the truck, too, along with her small children.It will be a travesty of justice if he is not called by the prosecution, unless he is too young.
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Good points. If the 911 dispatcher is called to the stand, I wonder if what they talked about will be heresay.
 
Here's all I could find today so far, snp'd:
A pre-trial issue between the judge and the attorneys in the case has caused a delay. Chief Courthouse Officer Walker Conley made the announcement to those waiting in the courthouse, stating that the issue was something that could not be discussed in open court.
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The only pre-trial motion I'm aware of is a gag order. Not saying there weren't others, but that's the one I read about.
THURSDAY UPDATES: Alyssa Shepherd Trial - News Now Warsaw
 
More updates:
Day 3 of Fulton County bus crash trial features taped interview from pickup truck driver

That interview mentioned was noteworthy, because in it Shepherd showed little emotion right after running over young children, she even seemed a bit detached from what happened.
Testimony about the incident in October of last year indicates Shepherd never really hit the brakes before impact.
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During a state police officer’s testimony Thursday afternoon, an interview done with Shepherd the same morning of the incident showed she never asked how the kids were doing– she could be seen laughing at times.
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Another link.
Jury sees recorded interview with driver in the moments after she allegedly struck, killed three kids

According to another article I read, AS was going to testify, but I haven't heard anything about her giving a testimony yet.
 
Alleykins said:
More updates:
Day 3 of Fulton County bus crash trial features taped interview from pickup truck driver




Another link.
Jury sees recorded interview with driver in the moments after she allegedly struck, killed three kids

According to another article I read, AS was going to testify, but I haven't heard anything about her giving a testimony yet.
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Could be nervous laughter (Why Clients Smile When Talking About Trauma - Part 1). It's not uncommon to see people react to extremely traumatic events in ways that might seem strange or even (wildly) inappropriate to bystanders. I remember once seeing an clip of a woman sitting in a completely demolished car after a car crash, casually putting on her make-up while the mutilated body of her husband was right next to her.
 
Mandos said:
Could be nervous laughter (Why Clients Smile When Talking About Trauma - Part 1). It's not uncommon to see people react to extremely traumatic events in ways that might seem strange or even (wildly) inappropriate to bystanders. I remember once seeing an clip of a woman sitting in a completely demolished car after a car crash, casually putting on her make-up while the mutilated body of her husband was right next to her.
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I think the first article states in fairness, they didn't know her state of mind (paraphrased).
All they were doing was describing the video of her interview and what they saw. I wasn't able to find the video, so I'm wondering if that wasn't released as one of the pretrial motions or part of the gag order. Or it could be out there, and I just haven't found it. Cameras aren't allowed in the courtroom so the media couldn't record it for their broadcasts.
 
Friday trial update link:
FRIDAY UPDATES: Alyssa Shepherd Trial - News Now Warsaw

The 911 dispatcher friend did testify.

I hope there were more questions asked of AS than what was reported, because the line of questioning reported appears weak. I hope they asked her what she was doing in the moments preceding, how much sleep had she gotten, those kinds of things.

I still believe she either fell asleep at the wheel, or had a micro-sleep. If you've never had a micro-sleep, they're pretty scary. In some cases, your eyes can be open and you can feel aware, but you're not. When you come to, it's disturbing. It happened to me in the ER after getting head butted by my 120 lb dog. My perception during the episode was only 5 or so seconds had passed. I looked at the person on my left, holding her baby. I looked out the front window, and then seconds later, looked back at her. During my perceived 5 seconds of looking away, the woman had gotten up with her baby (didn't hear her or see it out of the corner of my eye), gone to the bathroom to change her baby and was returning to her seat, when I "came to". I thought, when did she get up, I only turned my head & back.
In reality, it was more like 5 or 10 minutes. I thought I was wide awake that whole time, my eyes were open, I remember seeing a car drive through the ambulance bay, but nope. I lost consciousness & didn't even know it, because when I think of losing consciousness, I think of my eyes closing, my head dropping, but my eyes were wide open. My mind blanked it all out. It was freaky.

Sleep deprivation is an impairment, however, it is not something that can be proven like drunk driving can with a sobriety test.

After about 24 hours awake, impairment is equivalent to a BAC of 0.10%, which is higher than the legal limit in all 50 states.
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Warning Signs a Driver May Fall Asleep at the Wheel | Auto Accident Lawyers

Drowsy driving is illegal in my state.
Not sure how IN treats drowsy driving, as very few states address this common, dangerous problem.

Drowsy driving indicators:
(BBM to indicate which ones could possibly apply in AS's case)

Many drowsy driving accidents will involve at least one of the following: a single vehicle leaves the roadway
  • the driver is alone in the vehicle
  • the driver does not swerve or take any evasive action
  • the driver drifted out of his/her lane right before the accident
  • the driver crossed a double yellow line and/or drifted into oncoming traffic before the accident
  • the driver cannot recall what happened immediately before the accident, and
  • the accident occurred during high risk hours -- early morning, mid-afternoon or late at night
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Last edited:
Alleykins said:
Friday trial update link:
FRIDAY UPDATES: Alyssa Shepherd Trial - News Now Warsaw

The 911 dispatcher friend did testify.

I hope there were more questions asked of AS than what was reported, because the line of questioning reported appears weak. I hope they asked her what she was doing in the moments preceding, how much sleep had she gotten, those kinds of things.

I still believe she either fell asleep at the wheel, or had a micro-sleep. If you've never had a micro-sleep, they're pretty scary. In some cases, your eyes can be open and you can feel aware, but you're not. When you come to, it's disturbing. It happened to me in the ER after getting head butted by my 120 lb dog. My perception during the episode was only 5 or so seconds had passed. I looked at the person on my left, holding her baby. I looked out the front window, and then seconds later, looked back at her. During my perceived 5 seconds of looking away, the woman had gotten up with her baby (didn't hear her or see it out of the corner of my eye), gone to the bathroom to change her baby and was returning to her seat, when I "came to". I thought, when did she get up, I only turned my head & back.
In reality, it was more like 5 or 10 minutes. I thought I was wide awake that whole time, my eyes were open, I remember seeing a car drive through the ambulance bay, but nope. I lost consciousness & didn't even know it, because when I think of losing consciousness, I think of my eyes closing, my head dropping, but my eyes were wide open. My mind blanked it all out. It was freaky.

Sleep deprivation is an impairment, however, it is not something that can be proven like drunk driving can with a sobriety test.


Warning Signs a Driver May Fall Asleep at the Wheel | Auto Accident Lawyers

Drowsy driving is illegal in my state.
Not sure how IN treats drowsy driving, as very few states address this common, dangerous problem.

Drowsy driving indicators:
(BBM to indicate which ones could possibly apply in AS's case)


Click to expand...

It's quite possible of course. Young mother with several young children, early in the morning, hectic day ahead, probably some level of sleep deprivation, as is depressingly common nowadays.... Pretty much impossible to prove though.
 
Mandos said:
It's quite possible of course. Young mother with several young children, early in the morning, hectic day ahead, probably some level of sleep deprivation, as is depressingly common nowadays.... Pretty much impossible to prove though.
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Yes, it is difficult to prove. One officer in another article I read (unrelated to this case) stated there is no equivalent of a breathalyzer to test for sleep deprivation, like there is for alcohol, and that the only way they can prove it is if the person tells them they're sleep deprived. But, if prosecutors don't even ask AS about how much sleep she got the night before, if any, then they're doing the community a disservice. I'm thinking since she was taking her husband to work, something she said she wasn't used to doing, there's a chance she had a change in sleep routine. Throw in a fussy toddler or child, and a whole night's sleep can be greatly affected.
 
Alleykins said:
Just came here to post the verdict, thank you @Gardenista
Sentencing is on Dec. 18th.
Grateful to the jurors for giving those children & their families justice.
Parents are also pushing for tougher laws penalizing passing a school bus, including loss of their driver's license if caught.
Indiana woman found guilty after fatally striking 3 siblings at school bus stop
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I must admit I was surprised by the verdict, but very pleased that the families get justice.

I guess I have seen too many cases where justice does not prevail.
 
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