A 34-year-old woman who fell asleep in a parked pickup truck before it accelerated onto a youth soccer field in Wichita, Kansas, killing two people and injuring 10 others, will not face criminal charges, Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett announced on Thursday.
Investigation Findings
The Oct. 17 crash at the Stryker Sports Complex killed six-year-old Cole Adrian and 35-year-old Nicholas Schafer, both from McPherson, Kansas. Ten other individuals ranging in age from five to 68 sustained injuries. An off-duty police officer and other bystanders rushed to the vehicle immediately after the collision and found the driver crying.
Investigators determined the driver left her home in Garden City around 7 a.m. that morning, driving her husband’s 2021 Chevrolet Silverado because her own vehicle had tire pressure issues. She arrived at the Stryker Sports Complex by 10:40 a.m., attended games, and briefly left the facility for two fast-food restaurants and a business before returning.
At 2:36 p.m., she parked in a stall facing a field. After searching for a parking spot, she had selected the open space because it was the only one without a fence obstructing a direct path to the soccer field.
While one younger child got out of the truck, her 11-year-old child fell asleep in the backseat, and her 14-year-old daughter placed a sunshade over the windshield to prevent people from looking at her sleeping parent. Surveillance video showed the truck remained stationary for 46 minutes before moving.
Investigators examined the vehicle and conducted multiple tests, including reenactments in the same parking stall. Blood tests showed no evidence of drugs that would have impaired the driver’s judgment.
He said that investigators could not establish whether the vehicle was left in drive or how it shifted into motion while the driver slept, concluding that the most likely explanation was that she went to sleep thinking she had put the truck in park and inadvertently pressed the gas pedal while sleeping.
“If I could charge somebody, why wouldn’t I?” Bennett said at a news conference, adding, “But I also have an obligation to stand up and say, ‘It’s not here.’”
Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan emphasized that his department conducted a thorough review of the incident alongside prosecutors. “Every lead was examined. Every piece of evidence was reviewed. Every reasonable avenue available to us was pursued,” Sullivan said, noting that the case could be tried in civil court.
Family members and community members have mourned the victims, with Chris Adrian describing his son Cole as an incredible child who could put a smile on anyone’s face and served as the joy and light of their community.
Earlier coverage: Wichita DA Finds No Evidence of Crime in Fatal Soccer Field Crash