North America

Wichita police release driver after pickup kills two at youth soccer game

Victims identified as six-year-old Cole Adrian and Nicholas Schafer with 11 hospitalized, former sheriff's detective says police must better explain why no charges were filed

Images

Former detective asks why mom faces no charges after soccer field rampage Former detective asks why mom faces no charges after soccer field rampage foxnews.com
Police responded to the Striker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kansas, after a pickup truck drove through a youth soccer game Saturday afternoon, leaving two people dead and 11 others hospitalized. Police responded to the Striker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kansas, after a pickup truck drove through a youth soccer game Saturday afternoon, leaving two people dead and 11 others hospitalized. foxnews.com
Two people, including a 6-year-old boy, were killed after a pickup truck drove through a youth soccer game at the Striker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kansas, on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. Two people, including a 6-year-old boy, were killed after a pickup truck drove through a youth soccer game at the Striker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kansas, on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. foxnews.com
stryker-sports-complex stryker-sports-complex foxnews.com
Aaron Moses of the Wichita Police Department Aaron Moses of the Wichita Police Department foxnews.com

A pickup truck drove through a youth soccer game at Wichita's Stryker Sports Complex on Saturday afternoon, killing a six-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man and sending 11 people to hospital. The driver was interviewed for several hours and released the same day.

The dead were Cole Adrian, 6, and Nicholas Schafer, 35, both of McPherson. By Sunday morning, after consultation with the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office, Wichita police had determined there was no probable cause to arrest the driver. Toxicology results and a mechanical examination of the truck are still pending, and investigators say they are weighing all possibilities, including speeding, mechanical failure, and drugs or alcohol. Nearly 50 witnesses have been interviewed, with more interviews ongoing.

The department's statements since have listed what the driver is not: not in the country illegally, no documented criminal history, no outstanding warrants, a valid license, and no association with the Wichita Police Department, the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office or any other law enforcement agency. What the truck did on the field has no official account.

Jamie Copenhaver, a former Florida sheriff's detective who worked with an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, told Fox News that law enforcement needs to do a better job describing why no charges have been filed. Police spokesperson Andrew Ford told TMZ that the driver, who remained at the scene after the crash and has been cooperative, answered questions about what happened.

The no-probable-cause determination was made, police said, on the information available Sunday morning, with the truck still being inspected and peer-reviewed toxicology results still outstanding. Police note that the driver's release does not represent a final determination about whether criminal charges are appropriate.