My family was wiped out during school – my children were gone in seconds and I couldn’t get pregnant again

A mother has told of her devastation after she lost all her children within minutes while walking to school.

Brittany Ingle and her husband Shane were heartbroken when they lost six-year-old twins Mason and Xzavier and their older sister Alivia, nine, after they were hit by a truck as they crossed the street to their school bus .

7

They desperately wanted to have another child after the tragedy, but Brittany, 34, from Indiana, underwent a medical procedure after the births of her four children and was unable to have another child.

The accident happened one morning in October 2018, when Brittany waved the three children to school.

IT WAS IN AN INSTANT

Speaking in this exclusive interview, Brittany recalls: “I waved my kids off to school and was supposed to take my oldest daughter, Selena, to the doctor later that morning.

“Seconds later I heard metal noise and screams.

“In a blind panic, I ran out the front door and down towards the bus stop.

“I had no shoes and socks, but I knew I needed to get there. I could see the bus with its lights flashing and people on the road.

“There was a man in the middle of the road, holding a boy in his arms. And nearby was a Paw Patrol backpack, just like the one Xzavier was carrying.

“I literally froze. It seemed like everything was happening in slow motion.

“Then I realized the boy in the man’s arms was Mason. I ran to him in disbelief.

“There were two other bodies lying with him. One was Xzavier and the other was Alivia.

“She was thrown 25 meters into the air by the truck that hit them while everyone was crossing the street to get on the bus.”

HORRIFIC ACCIDENT

Brittany lost all three of her children in a matter of seconds.

“There was nothing that could bring my children back to me,” she continues.

7

7

“All three died when the truck hit them.

There were 14 children crossing at that time and the truck that was in the distance couldn’t stop.

The driver, Alyssa Shepherd, struck the group, killing Brittany’s three children and injuring another.

“My life stopped the moment I lost my children, in October 2018,” she recalls.

“My husband Shane, 33, and I didn’t know how we were going to carry on.

“The only thing that got us through this was Selena and our faith.

“The community and our church were incredibly supportive to us, and we had to try to learn to move on with our lives.

“We owed it to our three beautiful angels.”

MAKING THE DIFFERENCE

Shane and Brittany campaigned for and successfully passed the MAX Strong Act — named after their three children’s first letters — to improve bus safety by implementing same-side boarding and alighting so children don’t have to cross the street.

“Our family has been torn apart, but passing this law helps make things easier so that our little ones are always remembered for making a difference,” says Brittany.

But although the new law was a great comfort to the family, Brittany still felt like something was missing from their lives.

“Over the years, Shane and I talked and decided that we really wanted to have another child,” she says.

“I missed the constant conversation and hustle and bustle of having a big family, and we wanted Selena to have another brother or sister.

“But the lining of my uterus was removed after giving birth to my four children, to help improve a medical condition, and this meant an embryo could no longer adhere to my uterus.

“So I couldn’t carry a baby alone.”

THE STRANGER’S MIRACLE

Brittany wrote about her situation on Facebook, and one day, she received an incredible message.

It was from a woman named Keri Fox, who lived just a few minutes away.

Keri tragically lost her eight-year-old son, Gideon, also in a traffic accident, and reached out to Brittany when she lost her babies.

“We stayed in touch and now she wanted to do something amazing for me,” says Brittany.

“She told me that she knew the pain I felt and that she would do anything to help me become a mother again.

“I couldn’t believe she was offering to do this, but Keri was adamant about being our replacement.

“She spoke to her husband Jeremy, 46, and he was fully supportive of what she wanted to do.”

In November 2022 they performed their first implantation, using Brittany’s eggs, fertilized with Shane’s sperm, and transferring them into Keri’s uterus.

I missed the constant conversation and hustle and bustle of having a big family

Brittany English

“For two weeks we waited anxiously and then cried with disappointment when we discovered it hadn’t worked,” she says.

“Two months later we tried again and this time it worked. Keri was pregnant.

“It was incredible news. Her pregnancy went well and we had exams and consultations together.

“Then one night at 12:30pm, two days before my birthday, Keri called to tell me her water broke.

“Shane and I rushed to the hospital and I was by her side as she delivered our son into the world.

“When he was handed over to me it was the most incredible moment.

AMAZING GIFT

‘We called him Psalm – Mason was holding a medal in his hand when he was hit by the truck, and on his back was engraved a Psalm.

“We felt this was the name chosen for our son.”

The two women remained close friends after the experience and the family is moving on from the tragic events of 2018.

“Keri and I are so close that she stops by to see us and we go on a lot of family outings together,” adds Brittany.

“Alyssa Shepherd has only served two and a half years of her four-year sentence, but we try not to focus on that. Instead, we are anxious.

“We pass our law and have our son Psalm.”

Keri, 37, adds: “I knew Brittany felt so empty without her babies. I knew the agony she was going through and I wanted to help her find happiness again.

“Losing both boys meant being able to bring a boy back to her was very special. We are so close now, we are like sisters.”

7

7

7