WICHITA, KS - A mother whose pickup truck drove onto a youth soccer field, killing a 6-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man, will not face criminal charges, according to a recent announcement by Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett.
The October 17 incident at Wichita’s Stryker Sports Complex killed Cole Adrian, 6, and Nicholas Schafer, 35, both of McPherson, Kansas. Ten other people suffered traumatic injuries that authorities described as non-life-threatening.
According to Bennett’s 18-page investigative report, the 34-year-old driver had traveled over 200 miles from Garden City to Wichita in her husband’s 2021 Chevrolet Silverado to attend her children’s soccer games. After returning to the complex that afternoon, she parked facing one of the fields.
According to reports, the woman told investigators she believed she shifted the truck into park before reclining her seat to sleep. Two of her children remained inside. Surveillance footage showed the truck stationary for about 46 minutes before it suddenly crossed a curb, entered the soccer area, and struck people along the sidelines.
Investigators concluded the most plausible explanation was that the truck had remained in drive and the sleeping woman inadvertently pressed the accelerator. They could not definitively establish the gear position before the crash. Witnesses described the driver as distraught and repeatedly apologizing afterward.
Police examined surveillance video, interviewed witnesses, reviewed electronic vehicle data, and worked with General Motors personnel to inspect the truck. Investigators found no evidence of a mechanical malfunction, intentional attack, or drug or alcohol impairment.
Testing with a comparable truck showed it could remain stationary against the curb while in drive, then move over it when the accelerator was pressed.
“The reasonable conclusion is that, while she slept, her foot unintentionally hit the gas pedal while the truck was in gear,” the report states, according to Fox News.
Why no criminal charges?
Kansas law distinguishes a tragic outcome from conduct that satisfies the elements of a crime. Under K.S.A. 21-5405(a)(1), involuntary manslaughter includes a killing committed recklessly. Kansas defines recklessness in K.S.A. 21-5202(j) as consciously disregarding a substantial, unjustifiable risk in a way that grossly departs from reasonable care.
The district attorney said the evidence did not establish that the driver consciously recognized and disregarded such a risk.
A second statute, K.S.A. 21-5406, defines vehicular homicide as a death caused by operating a vehicle in a manner creating an unreasonable risk and materially departing from reasonable care. The law describes that departure as more than ordinary negligence but less than gross negligence. Vehicular homicide is a Class A person misdemeanor, carrying a jail sentence of up to a year.
Bennett’s report considered that offense as well but concluded the available evidence did not support prosecution. The decision does not determine whether the driver could face a civil negligence or wrongful-death claim, which operates under different legal standards.
The case leaves two families grieving, other victims recovering, and a difficult public question unresolved: When an apparently accidental mistake has fatal consequences, where should the line between tragedy and criminal accountability be drawn?
Do you agree with the decision not to file charges, or should the case have gone before a jury? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
Writer Eddie Molina has over 25 years of combined LEO/military experience and is now the host of The Veteran Experience Show, available on YouTube and Spotify.
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