Driver Released After Pickup Truck Kills 2 at Kansas Youth Soccer Game
A 34-year-old woman who drove a pickup truck onto a youth soccer field in Wichita, Kansas, killing a 6-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man, was released from custody as police continue to investigate. Ten others were injured.
A 34-year-old woman was released from custody Sunday after the pickup truck she was driving plowed into a youth soccer game in Wichita, Kansas, killing a 6-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man and injuring 10 others, police said.
No charges have been filed. The woman was released “pending the results of toxicology testing and a mechanical examination of her vehicle,” the Wichita Police Department said in a statement. Investigators interviewed the woman and more than 30 witnesses before consulting the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s office. The district attorney’s office plans an initial review of the case later this week.
What happened at Stryker Sports Complex
Emergency dispatchers began getting calls about 3:25 p.m. local time Saturday as children played on a field at the Stryker Sports Complex. Police said the truck had been parked near the fields before it entered one of them and struck multiple people. Investigators have not said how the vehicle got past the complex’s fenced perimeter.
The two people killed were identified as 6-year-old Cole Adrian and 35-year-old Nicholas Schafer, both of McPherson, Kansas. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had first reversed the boy’s names in a release and later corrected it.
Ten people, ages 5 to 68, were taken to hospitals with injuries ranging from bruises to extremely severe injuries, though none appeared to be life-threatening, police said. Five of the injured were children. An 11th person went to the hospital for medical complications unrelated to traumatic injuries.
Two of the driver’s children were in the truck when it entered the field, and investigators have interviewed them, police said. Another of her children was playing soccer on a different field at the complex.
Panic on the field
Vanessa Trammell was watching her 13-year-old son’s game on a nearby field when the truck crossed the neighboring field. “It was pure panic,” she told CNN. “I didn’t know what was going on — just that people were being hit.”
A youth player, identified by CNN affiliate KWCH only as Isaac, said his father pulled the driver from the truck to stop her. “My dad went to the truck (and) took the person out of the truck so that they don’t hit any more people,” he said.
First responders arrived to find community members already giving medical aid to the injured. “This is a tragedy,” Capt. Aaron Moses of the Wichita Police Department told reporters. Police are asking the public to send in any video from the complex to help the investigation.
All events at the complex have been canceled until further notice. Flag football state championship games on an adjacent field were also suspended, the Kansas State High School Activities Association said.
Wichita Mayor Lily Wu said she was heartbroken. “Families came to Stryker Sports Complex to enjoy a Saturday afternoon, watching their children play soccer and no one could have imagined the tragedy that would unfold,” she said.
President Donald Trump offered condolences Monday night at a campaign rally in nearby Park City. “To all victims and their families: May God be with you. And we want to get to the bottom of what happened,” he said.
Reporting based on coverage by CNN and Reuters.
