Family welcomes newborn son via surrogacy after losing 3 children in school bus stop crash
AKRON, Ind. - An Indiana mother recently welcomed her newborn son via surrogacy five years after her three children were killed in a school bus stop car crash.
Brittany Ingle, 34, of Akron and her husband, Shane, brought home Psalm Patrick Ingle last September. The couple also lives with Ingle's teenage daughter from a previous relationship.
"It was a big decision, and we decided we just wanted to grow our love again," Ingle told FOX Television Stations.
October 30, 2018, started out like most school days for Ingle. She got up and made sure her three younger children, 9-year-old Alivia and 6-year-old twins Xzavier and Mason, were ready for school.
9-year-old Alivia and 6-year-old twins Xzavier and Mason were killed in 2018 at a school bus stop crash. (Credit: Brittany Ingle)
The siblings left the house to go to the school bus stop, while Ingle stayed behind to grab a hoodie.
A blood-curdling scream from outside made Ingle forget about grabbing the hoodie.
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Ingle said a driver failed to stop for the school bus and plowed through a group of children, hitting four. Ingle's three children were killed. A fourth child was seriously injured.
"All my children were gone in a blink of an eye," Ingle continued. "And as a mother, that is your worst nightmare."
A surrogate with a similar story
After years of grief and dealing with a trial, Ingle and her husband decided to have another baby through surrogacy. She was advised to reach out to family and friends first.
The couple chose surrogacy after Ingle had a medical procedure that left her unable to have children.
Brittany Ingle and Kerri Fox. (Credit: Brittany Ingle)
She reached out on social media, and another mom, Kerri Fox, responded after losing a child of her own in a similar tragedy.
"He was killed in front of the school at a crosswalk when a driver failed to stop," Ingle explained.
The two mothers quickly bonded and Fox agreed to the surrogacy.
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"There is a God," Ingle continued. "He definitely has been working in this because everything fell together so perfect."
The women continue to meet up with each other's families.
"She loves my child. Why not let more people love him? I think that's great," Ingle said.
Finding faith and a fight amid tragedy
Ingle said back in October 2018, she saw her children's bodies after the accident.
"One of the hardest things I've seen in my entire life," she continued.
Ingle said one of her sons had a dog tag with him when he was killed. Her children received the dog tags when they went trick-or-treating in the community a few days before their deaths.
"When I got it, I seen the cross, and I flipped it over and on the back it said, ‘Your word is a lamp to my feet, a light to my path,’" she added, referring to an oft-quoted biblical scripture found in the book of Psalm.
It's also what led her to name her newborn son.
"He is almost four months old and things are great," she said. "He is a beautiful, healthy, perfect baby."
Brittany and Shane Ingle with their family before the three youngest children lost their lives. (Credit: Brittany Ingle)
Ingle said, ironically, the at-fault driver was a well-known churchgoing woman in the local community. The driver was recently released on house arrest and probation, after serving a little more than two years in prison, according to the South Bend Tribune.
The outlet also reported that prosecutors never established why the driver didn't say she was distracted or intoxicated.
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Ingle said she was upset that the driver showed no remorse despite her religious standing in the community, but that didn't stop Ingle from pursuing her Christian faith.
Since then, Ingle has been fighting to improve school bus safety and calling for strict penalties with the MAX Strong bill, named after her children. The bill passed in 2019, and Ingle hopes to do the same at the federal level. According to the National Safety Council, school bus-related crashes killed 108 people nationwide in 2021, up 50% compared to the pandemic-related low number of 54 deaths in 2020.
In addition, Ingle said she advocates for surrogacy.
"Thank God for surrogates and technology that I'm able to have this beautiful blessing," she said. "So I encourage people to live their lives, and if they're considering building their family, go for it."
This story was reported from Los Angeles.