A boy unrelated to the three siblings, 11-year-old Maverik Lowe, was also hit by Shepherd but survived with serious injuries.
According to a brief filed with the court of appeals on May 5, Shepherd lays out four arguments as to why aspects of her conviction should be overturned.
The brief says the state "failed to present sufficient evidence" Shepherd acted recklessly as opposed to negligently. Because Shepherd was not drinking, texting or otherwise distracted, the brief says, her actions were "an error in judgement" not reckless homicide. The appeal says Shepherd believed the lights she saw were a farming implement or an over-sized load.
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"The fact that her error killed three siblings and forever scarred another little boy is tragic almost beyond imaginable for a parent, but it does not change the fact it was still an accident," the appeal reads.
The brief goes on to say the jury at Shepherd's trial was not given proper instruction on the distinction between criminal recklessness and negligence and that her convictions of criminal recklessness and passing a school bus causing injury violate Indiana's double jeopardy statutes, meaning one of the two convictions must be vacated.
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The brief also argues Shepherd's license suspensions should run concurrently and not consecutively.
When contacted by The Tribune, Stacy Uliana — Shepherd's attorney — provided a written statement.
"Indiana law is clear that even heart-wrenchingly tragic accidents that result from a driver's error in judgment may be the basis of a civil lawsuit but are not crimes," the statement read. "We are simply asking that the Court of Appeals fairly apply this law to Alyssa."
In April, the National Transportation Safety Board — a federal agency that investigates major transportation crashes — found Shepherd's failure to stop for the bus was the primary cause of the crash. The report also listed the Tippecanoe Valley School Corp.'s "inadequate safety assessment of school bus routes" as a contributing cause in the crash.
According to federal law, no part of the agency's final report may be admitted into evidence for legal proceedings.