What happened
A black pickup drove onto the field at the Stryker Sports Complex in north-east Wichita, Kansas, during a youth soccer game on Saturday, 17 October. Police put the time at about 3:25 p.m. local time. When officers and paramedics arrived, they found the truck on the west field of the complex with the driver inside and two juveniles in the cab, while community members were already giving medical aid to the injured.
Two people were killed: a 6-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man from McPherson, Kansas, about an hour north of Wichita. Police said the two victims were not related to each other. Reports put the number of people hurt at 10 or 11, depending on the outlet.
- Truck drives onto a field during a youth soccer game at the Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita
- Police identify the two people killed as a 6-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man from McPherson
- Driver released without charges pending toxicology results
The driver and the investigation
The driver is a 34-year-old woman from Garden City, Kansas, roughly three and a half hours away by car, and police have not released her name. She was taken into custody after the crash, but police have since released her without charges while toxicology results are pending. Officers drug tested her and carried out a mechanical examination of her black Chevrolet pickup. Captain Aaron Moses of the Wichita Police Department said she holds a valid driver's license and has no outstanding warrants. Moses also said she had a child playing soccer that day, though on another field in the complex.
Investigators have not yet established how the truck got past the gate or how fast it was moving, Moses said. Police have not said whether they believe the crash was intentional, and no motive has been given. Police have asked witnesses to share any video of the incident. Moses said:
We are still working to determine how this happened and why this happened.
Victims and injuries
Ten people were taken to area hospitals with traumatic injuries, some of them severe, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. The injured ranged in age from five to 68 and included children aged five, eight and nine, as well as adults between 28 and 68. The New York Times reports 10 injured, while the Guardian and the Washington Post count 11, with the eleventh a 61-year-old woman with nontraumatic medical issues.
Community response
McPherson City FC posted on Facebook that it had suffered an unimaginable tragedy at the Stryker complex, and asked families to allow time for healing and grieving. The McPherson city government wrote that its community is hurting and stands together. Wichita Mayor Lily Wu said the day was painful for the city:
Today is a heartbreaking day for Wichita.
Wu said families had come to the complex for a Saturday afternoon of watching their children play, and that no one could have imagined the tragedy. The city said all events scheduled at the complex are cancelled until further notice.