Emergency personnel responded to a scene of a collision that killed three children crossing SR 25 as they were boarding their school bus north of Rochester, Indiana on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018,. (Santiago... (Associated Press) 
 
 Emergency personnel responded to a scene of a collision that killed three children crossing SR 25 as they were boarding their school bus north of Rochester, Indiana on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018,. (Santiago Flores/South Bend Tribune via AP) (Associated Press) 
 
 ROCHESTER, Ind. (AP) — A 9-year-old girl and her twin 6-year-old brothers were struck and killed by a pickup truck as they crossed a northern Indiana road to board a school bus before sunrise Tuesday, police said. A fourth child was critically injured and airlifted to a hospital. 
 
 A Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. bus had stopped and lowered its stop-arm on the road near Rochester around 7 a.m., just before a northbound pickup truck slammed into the children as they crossed the southbound lane, Indiana State Police Sgt. Tony Slocum said. 
 
 Six-year-old twin brothers Xzavier and Mason Ingle and their 9-year-old sister, Alivia Stahl, died at the scene, he said. The rural Rochester residents were students at nearby Mentone Elementary School. 
 
 The siblings' great aunt, Pamela Pugh, told the South Bend Tribune that she was stunned and shaken by their deaths. 
 
 "I'm just trying to make sense of all of it. There are no words," she said. 
 
 Slocum said an 11-year-old boy not related to the deceased siblings suffered multiple broken bones when he was also hit by the pickup. That child, Maverik Lowe, was in critical condition at a Fort Wayne hospital and was undergoing surgery. 
 
 Lowe was conscious and speaking to emergency workers before he was airlifted to the hospital, Slocum said. 
 
 Authorities were interviewing the pickup driver. 
 
 He said it was early in the crash investigation and it was unclear if the driver would face charges in the deaths, although he noted Indiana law requires motorists to stop when a school bus is picking up or dropping off children. 
 
 Slocum said the students had the right of way as they crossed the street from the rural mobile home community where they lived. 
 
 "It's an unspeakable tragedy," he said. "We all have a responsibility to share the roadway and we're all responsible for making sure our children get to and from school safely." 
 
 The Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. said in a statement posted on Facebook that counselors had been dispatched to its schools to help students, staff and parents and urged "the community to come together to pray for the families." 
 
 Detectives were interviewing witnesses and a crash reconstruction team was at the scene near Rochester, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of Indianapolis. 
 
 Gov. Eric Holcomb said in a statement that he and his wife, Janet, were mourning the students' death and urged Indiana residents to send their "deepest prayers for the strength needed to endure such a time." 
 
 "Words cannot express the depth of sorrow Janet and I feel, which only pales in comparison to what family, friends, teachers, classmates and community are feeling right now," he said. ||||| ROCHESTER, Ind. (AP) — The Latest on three schoolchildren being struck and killed by a pickup truck in northern Indiana (all times local): 
 
 6:50 p.m. 
 
 The driver of a pickup truck that struck and killed three young siblings as they crossed a northern Indiana road to board a school bus is facing charges. 
 
 Indiana State Police say 24-year-old Alyssa Shepherd of Rochester was arrested and charged with three counts of reckless homicide and one misdemeanor count of passing a school bus when arm signal device is extended, causing bodily injury. Shepherd was being held on a $15,000 surety bond. 
 
 State Police Sgt. Tony Slocum says 6-year-old twin brothers Xzavier and Mason Ingle died at the scene Tuesday morning along with their 9-year-old sister, 
 
 The siblings and an 11-year-old boy were struck about 7 a.m., before sunrise, as they were crossing a two-lane road near Rochester, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of Indianapolis, to board a Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. bus. 
 
 Slocum says the injured boy, Maverik Lowe, is undergoing surgery at a Fort Wayne hospital. 
 
 ___ 
 
 2:30 p.m. 
 
 State Police have released the names of three young siblings who were struck and killed by a pickup truck as they 
 
 Sgt. Tony Slocum says 6-year-old twin brothers Xzavier and Mason Ingle died at the scene Tuesday morning along with their 9-year-old sister, Alivia Stahl. All three were students at Mentone Elementary School. 
 
 The siblings and an unrelated 11-year-old boy were struck about 7 a.m. as they were crossing a two-lane road near Rochester, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of Indianapolis to board a Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. bus. 
 
 Slocum says the injured boy, Maverik Lowe, is undergoing surgery at a Fort Wayne hospital. 
 
 The pickup's driver was identified as 24-year-old Alyssa Shepherd of rural Rochester. 
 
 ___ 
 
 11:30 a.m. 
 
 State Police say a 9-year-old girl and her twin 6-year-old brothers were killed when a pickup truck struck them in northern Indiana as they were crossing a road to board a school bus. 
 
 Sgt. Tony Slocum says the girl and her brothers died at the scene Tuesday morning after they were struck by the pickup near Rochester, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of Indianapolis. 
 
 An 11-year-old boy who isn't a relative was also struck and suffered multiple broken bones. Slocum says that boy was conscious and speaking to emergency workers before he was airlifted to a Fort Wayne hospital. 
 
 Slocum says the children were hit as they were crossing a two-lane road to board a Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. bus that had stopped with its stop-arm deployed. 
 
 ___ 
 
 9:49 a.m. 
 
 State Police say three children were struck and killed by a pickup truck in northern Indiana as they were about to board a school bus. 
 
 Sgt. Tony Slocum says four children were preparing to board a Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. bus about 7 a.m. Tuesday when they were hit by the pickup truck on a two-lane road near Rochester, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of Indianapolis. 
 
 Slocum says three of the children died at the scene and the fourth was airlifted to a Fort Wayne hospital. Their names and ages haven't been released. Slocum didn't say which school the children attend. 
 
 Police are interviewing the woman who was driving the pickup. 
 
 Slocum calls the accident a "terrible tragedy."
– A 9-year-old girl and her twin 6-year-old brothers were struck and killed by a pickup truck as they crossed a northern Indiana road to board a school bus before sunrise Tuesday, police said. A fourth child was critically injured and airlifted to a hospital, the AP reports. A Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. bus had stopped and lowered its stop-arm on the road near Rochester around 7am, just before a northbound pickup truck slammed into the children as they crossed the southbound lane, Indiana State Police Sgt. Tony Slocum said. Six-year-old twin brothers Xzavier and Mason Ingle and their 9-year-old sister, Alivia Stahl, died at the scene, he said. The rural Rochester residents were students at nearby Mentone Elementary School. The siblings' great aunt, Pamela Pugh, told the South Bend Tribune that she was stunned and shaken by their deaths. "I'm just trying to make sense of all of it. There are no words," she said. Slocum said an 11-year-old boy not related to the deceased siblings suffered multiple broken bones when he was also hit by the pickup. That child, Maverik Lowe, was in critical condition at a Fort Wayne hospital and was undergoing surgery. Lowe was conscious and speaking to emergency workers before he was airlifted to the hospital, Slocum said. The pickup driver, 24-year-old Alyssa Shepherd of Rochester, was arrested and charged with three counts of reckless homicide and one misdemeanor count of passing a school bus when arm signal device is extended, causing bodily injury. (A school bus driver's illegal U-turn allegedly caused a fatal crash.)