A woman whose pickup struck people attending a Kansas youth soccer tournament, leaving a 6-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man dead, is no longer in police custody and has not been charged.
Wichita investigators permitted the 34-year-old to leave Sunday while testing continued to determine whether impairment or a problem with her Chevrolet might explain Saturday’s deadly collision.
The vehicle had traveled out of a parking spot and onto a field at Stryker Sports Complex, but authorities have yet to establish what prompted its movement.
Six-year-old Cole Adrian was among those killed. The other victim, Nicholas Schafer, was 35. Both lived in McPherson, Kansas, although the two had no family relationship.
Bystanders reportedly helped the woman out of the pickup afterward, hearing her express disbelief at the destruction around her.
“Oh my God, oh my God, what have I done?” she exclaimed, according to the New York Post.
Whether the crash resulted from deliberate conduct, a health emergency, impairment or some other cause has not been established.
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Laboratory results and a technical inspection of the vehicle remain among the evidence investigators are examining as they consider whether any offense occurred.
The decision to release the woman came after Wichita police consulted the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office. By then, investigators had spoken with more than 30 witnesses, including the driver’s two children who had been passengers in the pickup.
The woman had brought three children to the complex. While two accompanied her in the Chevrolet, the other was competing in a match on another field.
The Garden City mother had been cooperating with police since her initial detention Saturday, Capt. Aaron Moses explained during a briefing. Investigators also established that her driver’s license was valid and found no outstanding warrants for her arrest.
A sudden rush of emergency calls began around 3:25 p.m. as the pickup crossed into the area where children and adults had gathered for soccer in northeast Wichita.
The vehicle did not immediately come to rest after hitting people, according to one spectator, who estimated that it traveled another considerable distance across the playing grounds.
A “black pickup truck came plowing through the youth soccer fields hitting multiple people before stopping 100-200 yards down the fields,” the witness recounted to 12 News.
Investigators have not adopted that distance as an official measurement. Moses also declined to estimate the truck’s speed or explain how the driver reached the soccer field.
Attempts to revive Adrian and Schafer at the complex were unsuccessful.
People already attending the event assisted those who had been struck as ambulances and other emergency vehicles arrived.
“Dozens of emergency responders on scene giving CPR and rendering aid to victims,” the witness recalled.
Wichita Fire Department crews and Sedgwick County EMS joined officers from Wichita and neighboring agencies in the operation, while ambulances carried patients to local hospitals.
Of the five injured children, three were boys, including a five-year-old and two eight-year-olds. The other two were girls, ages five and nine.
The collision also injured five adults, whose ages ranged from 28 to 68. By Sunday, police had classified all 10 crash victims’ injuries as noncritical.
Hospital transports numbered 11 because a 61-year-old woman separately required medical attention for complications unrelated to the collision.
Ascension Via Christi and Wesley Medical Center received patients following the emergency at Stryker.
During Sunday’s update, Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan extended his condolences to the victims’ relatives and those who had witnessed the crash.
“What should have been a day of children playing soccer and families spending time together ended in tragedy,” Sullivan said.
He extended his concern to the injured, their relatives and people who had seen the crash.
“We know this tragedy has affected many people throughout our community, and we want those families to know they are not alone,” he continued.
Sporting Wichita Academy expressed appreciation for spectators who provided assistance and for the professionals who treated victims at the complex.
The academy’s Facebook message spoke of the connections among players, parents and others involved in youth soccer.
“Soccer is more than a game. It is a community. It is families in the stands, teammates standing beside one another, and people who come together through a shared love of the game,” the organization wrote.
“Today, that community is hurting, and we must lean on one another more than ever.”
Mayor Lily Wu also addressed Wichita residents through Facebook, offering condolences to those grieving Adrian and Schafer and thanking the people involved in the emergency response.
“My heart breaks for the families who have lost loved ones,” Wu wrote. “My thoughts and prayers are with those injured and everyone affected by this tragedy.”
Wu also received an offer of state assistance from Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, who conveyed condolences to the families and others affected by the crash.
Police have requested recordings from spectators and other people at Stryker, hoping additional viewpoints might clarify what happened before and during the collision.
The department specifically asked people not to disregard video simply because it contained only a small portion of the incident.
“Regardless of how significant you believe your footage may be, we encourage you to submit it,” Wichita police urged. “Even the smallest detail could assist investigators.”
“We know what happened, but now we’re working very hard to find out why it happened,” Sullivan said during Saturday’s news conference.
