Wichita Driver Released Without Charges as Victims Are Named in Youth Soccer Crash

WICHITA, Kansas — The woman who drove a pickup truck onto a youth soccer field in Wichita on Saturday, killing a 6-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man and injuring 10 other people, has been released without charges while investigators wait for toxicology results and a mechanical examination of her vehicle, police said Sunday. The Associated Press reported that the 34-year-old driver was released pending those results in the aftermath of Saturday's crash at the Stryker Sports Complex in northeast Wichita, and that her name has not been made public. Police identified the two people killed as Cole Adrian, 6, and Nicholas Schafer, 35, both of McPherson, Kansas, and said the two were not related.

The release is the newest development in a case Previously first covered on Saturday, when the driver was taken into custody after a vehicle drove onto a field at the Stryker Sports Complex and two people were killed. According to CNN, the driver was released “pending the results of toxicology testing and a mechanical examination of her vehicle” after investigators conducted interviews with witnesses and consulted with the district attorney's office, citing a news release from the Wichita Police Department. Fox News and The Wichita Eagle reported the same sequence: the release followed interviews with more than 30 witnesses and consultation with the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office.

What happened on Saturday afternoon

The crash happened at about 3:25 p.m. local time on Saturday, October 17, during a youth soccer game at the complex. According to a preliminary investigation described by the Associated Press, the Chevrolet pickup had been parked in a parking space near the soccer fields before it drove onto one of the fields, striking children and adults who were playing and watching. Police said two of the driver's children were with her inside the pickup at the time, and a third child was playing soccer on another field at the complex.

First responders arrived to find community members already providing medical aid to the injured, Capt. Aaron Moses of the Wichita Police Department told reporters outside the complex, in comments reported by CNN. “This is a tragedy,” Moses said. People magazine reported that Moses said officers and paramedics found the truck on the west side of the field, with the driver still with the vehicle along with two juveniles. Police said Saturday evening that the driver had been cooperative with investigators, and that there was no further threat to the public.

The victims, and the ten people injured

Police identified those killed at the scene as Cole Adrian and Nicholas Schafer, both of McPherson, a community about an hour north of Wichita. The Associated Press reported that police originally misidentified the 6-year-old in an early release, reversing his first and last names, before issuing the corrected identification on Sunday. CNN reported the same correction.

Ten other people, ranging in age from 5 to 68, were taken to area hospitals. The Associated Press described their injuries as non-serious, and CNN reported that the injuries ranged from bruises to extremely severe injuries, though none appeared to be life-threatening. Five of the injured were children, according to CNN. People magazine reported the injured included a 5-year-old girl and boy, two 8-year-old boys and a 9-year-old girl, along with adults between 28 and 68. An 11th person was also taken to a local hospital after experiencing medical complications unrelated to traumatic injuries, police said, according to CNN.

In McPherson, Mayor Jim Loving addressed the families in a Facebook post reported by The Wichita Eagle: “To the families who lost someone: this whole town is grieving with you, and we will stand with you for as long as it takes.”

Why the driver was released

Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan said investigators are still working to establish exactly what happened. “Our officers and investigators will continue working to understand exactly what happened,” Sullivan said, noting that no charges have been filed to date, according to the Associated Press. Investigators say they have interviewed more than 30 witnesses, including the driver and the two children who were riding in the pickup, the Associated Press reported.

Two pieces of evidence now sit at the center of the case. The first is toxicology testing, which will establish whether anything in the driver's system may have played a role. The second is a mechanical examination of the Chevrolet pickup itself, which will examine whether a vehicle failure contributed to the truck leaving its parking space and crossing onto the field. Police have not said what caused the crash, and officials are still working to determine more about what happened and why, according to CNN.

What happens next

The next formal step belongs to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office. Fox News reported that police are expected to present an initial case review to District Attorney Marc Bennett early this week. Any charging decision is expected to wait on that review and on the outstanding test and examination results. Until then, the driver remains free, unnamed in public releases, and the investigation remains open.

For the families who were at the Stryker Sports Complex on Saturday — a city-owned complex in northeast Wichita built for exactly the kind of ordinary weekend youth game that was underway — the wait for answers is the story now. Previously will continue to follow the district attorney's review and the results of the toxicology and mechanical examinations as they are released. More of the morning's coverage is on Previously's News front.