Pickup crashes into Kansas youth soccer game, killing two and injuring ten

A dark Chevrolet pickup entered a youth soccer field at the city-owned Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita shortly before 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, striking participants and spectators. Police identified the victims as Cole Adrian, 6, and Nicholas Schafer, 35, both residents of McPherson, Kansas. Ten additional people, ranging in age from 5 to 68, were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police captured statements from more than 30 witnesses. Erica Case, whose 9-year-old son was playing on an adjacent field, said she heard an engine rev and a series of "boom" sounds, then saw debris flying as the truck barreled through the game. > "The moment that I recognized that that wasn’t gunshots, that that was bodies, I lost it," Case said, adding that she helped a nurse protect her child and assisted other injured spectators.

David Griekspoor, who was at the complex with his nephew, described the noise as "small gunfire" before seeing the truck moving through a line of people. He and his family moved to safety while other bystanders performed first aid, including mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and CPR.

Police said the driver, a 34-year-old woman from Garden City, Kansas, was taken into custody and later released after consultation with the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office. She has not been charged and has not been publicly identified. The driver, who had two children in the vehicle, was reportedly on her way to a separate soccer game at the complex. The investigation into the cause of the crash, including vehicle examination and toxicology testing, remains ongoing.