Two Dead, 11 Injured After Pickup Truck Drives Through Youth Soccer Game in Wichita

WICHITA, Kan. — A pickup truck drove through a youth soccer game at the Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita on Saturday afternoon, killing a 6-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man and injuring 11 other people, police said.

Sedgwick County 911 received multiple calls around 3:25 p.m. local time reporting that a vehicle had driven through a soccer game, Wichita police Capt. Aaron Moses said at a news conference. A witness told local outlet KWCH that a black pickup truck jumped the curb and drove across the fields, striking multiple people before stopping about 100 to 200 yards farther down the field.

The two people killed, who were not related to each other, were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Wichita Police Department. CNN reported that neither victim had been publicly identified as of Sunday morning. Eleven people, ages 5 to 68, were taken to local hospitals, including five children and six adults. Ten of them suffered traumatic injuries ranging from bruises to extremely severe injuries, though police said all of the injuries are believed to be non-life-threatening. A 61-year-old woman was also taken to the hospital for an unrelated medical condition.

The driver, a 34-year-old woman from Garden City, Kansas, is in police custody and has been cooperating with investigators, police said. Two juveniles were in the truck with her. Her own child was playing soccer at the complex on Saturday, but on a different field, according to Moses.

The truck “kept going,” witness says

Vanessa Trammell was watching her 13-year-old son’s soccer game on a nearby field when she saw the truck cross the neighboring field and strike several people. “We thought it was going to stop but then it like kept going,” she told CNN. “It was pure panic. I didn’t know what was going on, just that people were being hit.”

First responders arrived to find bystanders already giving medical aid to the injured. “The community was very impressive when our firefighters arrived,” Wichita Fire Chief Michael Mire said. “They didn’t begin patient care, they continued patient care, taking charge of what the community had already begun providing to those who were injured.” One youth player told KWCH that his father helped pull the driver from the truck, which he said may have kept more people from being hit.

Investigation continues

Police have not determined how fast the truck was traveling or how it got onto the field. The complex has surveillance video, and the facility’s owners are cooperating with investigators, police said. Investigators have interviewed more than 30 witnesses and asked the public for any photos or video of the scene. Police said it was not yet clear whether the driver would face charges, and described her as in custody but no longer a threat.

The Stryker Sports Complex canceled all events until further notice, according to a facility statement, and flag football state championship games at an adjacent field were suspended, the Kansas State High School Activities Association said. The complex hosts recreational and competitive youth soccer leagues from under-5 age groups through high school, as well as adult leagues, on 11 outdoor turf fields plus an indoor facility.

Wichita Mayor Lily Wu said she was heartbroken and urged people to avoid the area. “Families came to Stryker Sports Complex to enjoy a Saturday afternoon watching their children play soccer,” Wu said at a news conference Saturday night. “No one could have imagined the tragedy that would unfold. My heart breaks for the families who have lost loved ones, especially the family grieving the loss of a child.”

Reporting based on coverage by USA Today and CNN.