A 6-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man have been identified as the two people killed after a pickup truck drove onto a soccer field during youth games at Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kansas, on Saturday. Wichita police identified the victims as Adrian Cole, 6, and Nicholas Schafer, 35, both of McPherson, Kansas. Police said the two were not related.
The 34-year-old woman driving the Chevrolet pickup was released pending the results of toxicology testing and a mechanical examination of the vehicle, police said. No charges had been filed as investigators continue working to determine what led to the crash. Ten people, ranging in age from 5 to 68, were injured in the crash, according to a Wichita Police Department news release issued Sunday.
A 61-year-old woman was taken to a hospital after experiencing medical complications unrelated to the injured, bringing the total number transported to hospitals to 11. Five children were among the 10 people injured in the crash: a 5-year-old girl and boy, two 8-year-old boys and a 9-year-old girl, according to police. The five injured adults were ages 28, 32, 59, 65 and 68.
Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan expressed condolences to the deceased victims' family, saying, "Our hearts are with the families of Adrian and Nicholas as they face an unimaginable loss. What should have been a day of children playing soccer and families spending time together ended in tragedy.” He added: "We are also thinking about those who were injured, their loved ones and everyone who witnessed what happened. We know this tragedy has affected many people throughout our community, and we want those families to know they are not alone.
Our officers and investigators will continue working to understand exactly what happened." Newsweek reached out to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office by email Sunday for more information. Sedgwick County 911 received multiple calls at approximately 3:25 p.m. on Saturday, reporting that a vehicle had driven onto soccer fields at Stryker Sports Complex and struck several people, according to police. The preliminary investigation found that the Chevrolet pickup had been parked in a parking space near the fields before it drove onto one of them, striking children and adults, police said.
Two children of the 34-year-old driver were inside the pickup during the crash, while her other child was playing soccer on another field at the complex, according to police. Cole and Schafer died at the scene while the injured were transported to Ascension Via Christi and Wesley Medical Center. Investigators interviewed more than 30 witnesses, including the two children who had been inside the pickup, before interviewing the driver, according to the police's news release.
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