Wichita, Kansas: Prosecutors Decline to Charge Mother in Soccer Field Crash That Killed Two, Say She Fell Asleep at the Wheel
Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett announced on November 12 that the woman driver in the fatal crash at Wichita's Stryker Sports Complex on October 17 will not face criminal charges. Investigators determined that the 34-year-old mother fell asleep while driving and was not impaired by alcohol or drugs. The crash occurred on October 17, when the Garden City woman drove her husband's truck into a crowd at a youth soccer match, killing Adrian Cole, 6, and Nicholas Schaefer, 35, and injuring 10 others, ranging in age from 5 to 68.
At a news conference, Bennett said that after toxicology results came back, there was no evidence the driver was under the influence of alcohol or drugs: "I have no evidence that this had anything to do with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs." Investigators also found that the woman had gotten up at 6 a.m. that day, driven about 200 miles to Wichita in her husband's truck, which she had been driving for only a few days, first arrived at the sports complex at about 10:40 a.m., left at about 1:20 p.m. and returned roughly an hour later, parking near the field before the crash occurred. Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan said no mechanical problems were found with the vehicle. Police had previously characterized the incident as a mass-casualty event.
Source: Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 塞奇威克县法院（堪萨斯州威奇托），县地方检察官办公室所在地。／The Sedgwick County Courthouse in Wichita, Kansas, home to the District Attorney's Office.（Xnatedawgx，CC BY-SA 4.0，Wikimedia Commons）
