The driver who plowed her Chevrolet pickup through a crowded youth soccer field in Wichita, killing two spectators, walked out of police custody without charges as authorities await lab results.
Wichita Police announced Sunday that the 34-year-old woman has been released pending toxicology testing and a mechanical examination of her truck. No charges have been filed against her, and investigators are still working to determine what caused the deadly crash at the Stryker Sports Complex.
“No charges have been filed at this time, and investigators continue working to determine the circumstances that led to the crash,” the police department said in its Sunday statement.
The rampage killed Adrian Cole, 6, and Nicholas Schafer, 35, both residents of McPherson, Kansas. The two victims were not related, according to police. Ten other people were injured in the chaos, with victims ranging in age from 5 to 68.
The crash unfolded Saturday evening as youth soccer games were underway at the busy sports complex. The woman’s Chevrolet pickup had been parked in a space near the fields before it suddenly accelerated onto one of the playing surfaces.
Two children were inside the truck when it barreled into the crowd. One of them was the driver’s own child, who had been playing at the complex that evening — though on a different field from where the fatal impact occurred.
The presence of the driver’s children in the vehicle, including one participating in the evening’s activities, adds a complicated dimension to a case that has already left a Kansas community reeling. Police have not indicated whether the children were injured.
The decision to release the driver without charges, announced a day after the killings, leaves families of the victims and the injured waiting for answers about potential criminal liability. The toxicology results and mechanical inspection could determine whether impairment or vehicle malfunction played any role.
Adrian Cole, the youngest fatality, was 6 years old. Schafer, 35, also died at the scene. The broad age range of those hurt — from a 5-year-old child to a 68-year-old adult — suggests the truck struck across a wide swath of the spectator area.
Wichita Police have not publicly identified the driver, and her relationship to the second child in the truck remains unclear. The department’s Sunday announcement offered no timeline for when the pending tests might be completed.
The Stryker Sports Complex, a hub for youth athletics in Wichita, became a scene of mass casualties when what began as an ordinary Saturday evening of children’s soccer turned deadly. The driver’s truck had been stationary in a nearby parking space moments before it sped onto the field.
McPherson, Kansas, the hometown of both Cole and Schafer, is a community of roughly 13,000 people located about 50 miles north of Wichita. Two of its residents traveled to the city for an evening of youth sports and never returned home.
Authorities have not said whether the driver remained at the scene after the crash or what explanation she provided to investigators. The police department’s statement emphasized only that the probe continues and that no charges have been filed.
The case now hinges on laboratory analysis that could take weeks or longer, leaving the legal status of the deadliest vehicle incursion at a Kansas youth sports venue in recent memory unresolved.