The driver whose truck plowed onto a soccer field in Kansas, leaving two people dead and 10 others injured, has been released without charges pending the results of toxicology testing, the police said.
The Wichita Police Department has not shared the name of the 34-year-old woman but said that she was drug tested and that the authorities also conducted a mechanical examination of her black Chevrolet pickup.
The two people who died at the Stryker Sports Complex were identified on Sunday as Cole Adrian, 6, and Nicholas Schafer, 35, both of McPherson, Kan. A relative of Mr. Schafer’s said the family would not be speaking to media at this time. Cole’s father, Chris Adrian, said in a text message that his family is heartbroken.
“Cole was an incredible kid and could put a smile on anyone’s face,” Mr. Adrian said. “He was the joy and light of our community. His pure heart was open to everyone. He had the best laugh. He was a friend with everyone, young or old.”
The woman appears to have been parked in a space near the soccer fields before the truck drove onto the field, the Wichita Police Department said, citing a preliminary investigation. Two children were inside the truck with her, and another one of her children was playing soccer on another field at the complex, the police said.
The truck struck 10 others who were taken to nearby hospitals. The victims ranged in age from 5 to 68, the police said.
The injured were a 5-year-old girl, a 5-year-old boy, two 8-year-old boys, a 9-year-old girl, a 28-year-old woman, a 32-year-old man, a 59-year-old woman, a 65-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man. Another person, a 61-year-old woman, was taken to the hospital with a separate medical issue, the police said.
Investigators interviewed more than 30 witnesses, including the woman and the children in the truck with her, before consulting with the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office, the news release said.
Teams from the Sporting Wichita Academy, a soccer club league for all ages, were playing on Saturday at the complex, which has 11 fields that host different sporting events and a 112,000-square-foot indoor facility.
Families from across the state were in attendance.
“If you want to play the best soccer, that’s where you go play,” said P.J. Kemp, 42, of Garden City, Kan., who had driven three and a half hours to watch his son and daughter, both 12, play at the complex on Saturday.
After the truck entered the field, and before it came to a full stop, Mr. Kemp said he and many others took off running toward it. Then “an entire sideline” rushed to help those who had been injured, he said.
Before more information about the crash surfaced, some people thought a shooter was at the complex. Esmeralda Tovar-Mora, 30, said her daughter, Rose, 10, took cover in the parking lot, hiding in a teammate’s vehicle. Rose’s coach stayed behind to make sure all of her teammates were off the field, Ms. Tovar-Mora said.
The crash led to the cancellation of sporting events over the weekend, but the complex is reopening on Monday, it said on Facebook.
Now, the youth soccer community in Kansas is struggling to navigate the loss, and grappling with the many unanswered questions that remain about how the truck ended up on the field.
Jim Loving, the mayor of the city of McPherson, which is home to the adult and child who died on Saturday, said in a statement that counselors and support staff would be at every McPherson public school building on Monday.
“McPherson takes care of each other,” he said. “We will get through this together.”
On Sunday, Mr. Kemp was preparing to take his younger daughter, 9, who was at the complex the day before, to play a local soccer game in Garden City.
“That’s how she wants to process it, is keep playing,” he said. “And that’s what we’re going to do.”
Orlando Mayorquín and Ishani Desai contributed reporting. Georgia Gee contributed research.
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