Two people — a six-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man — were killed when a pickup truck drove through a youth soccer game at the Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kansas, on Saturday, with 11 others taken to hospital, according to USA Today and the Wichita Police Department.
The incident happened at around 3:25pm local time, when Sedgwick County 911 received multiple calls reporting that a vehicle had driven through a soccer game at the Stryker Sports Complex facility, which has several indoor and outdoor fields. A witness told local outlet KWCH that a black pickup truck drove through the youth soccer fields, striking multiple people before stopping about 100 to 200 yards farther down the fields.
The two people killed were not related to each other and were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The driver of the vehicle, a 34-year-old woman from Garden City, Kansas, is in police custody and cooperating with the investigation. Authorities said there was no longer an ongoing threat to the public.
Stryker Sports Complex: What Police Say Happened
Wichita police Captain Aaron Moses said 11 people, aged between five and 68, were taken to local hospitals, including five children and six adults. Of those, ten had traumatic injuries ranging from bruises to extremely severe injuries, though police said all of them were believed to be non-life threatening. A 61-year-old woman was also taken to hospital for a non-traumatic medical condition, according to the report.
Officers located the truck on the field, and the driver remained with the vehicle along with two juveniles who were inside it. Moses said the driver’s child was playing soccer at the complex but not on the field where the incident took place.
Police have not yet determined how fast the vehicle was travelling or how it got onto the field. The Stryker Sports Complex has surveillance video and the owners of the complex are cooperating with investigators. The driver was described as cooperative, and police are working to establish why the crash happened before deciding whether charges will be filed.
Stryker Sports Complex: Community Steps In
First responders arriving at the scene found community members already rendering medical aid to those who were injured, police said. Dozens of emergency responders provided medical assistance to victims, including performing CPR, according to KWCH.
“The community was very impressive when our firefighters arrived,” Wichita Fire Chief Michael Mire said. “They didn’t begin patient care, they continued patient care, taking charge of what the community had already begun providing to those who were injured.”
“Today is a heartbreaking day for Wichita,” Mayor Lily Wu said. “Families came to Stryker Sports Complex to enjoy a Saturday afternoon watching their children play soccer. Nobody could have imagined the tragedy that would unfold.”
The tragedy also disrupted a major sporting event at the complex. The Kansas State High School Activities Association suspended the state’s inaugural girls flag football championship games, which were being held on an adjacent field. The third-place and championship games were postponed to a later date, with details expected to be announced on Monday.
Stryker Sports Complex Investigation Continues
Wichita police officers, other local law enforcement agencies, the Wichita Fire Department and Sedgwick County EMS all responded to the Stryker Sports Complex scene. The police department said it would provide further updates when more information became available.
Investigators are continuing to examine the circumstances of the crash, including how the vehicle reached the field and what caused the driver to lose control. With the driver in custody and cooperating, police hope to piece together the sequence of events in the coming days.
The incident has cast a shadow over what began as an ordinary Saturday of youth sport in Wichita, leaving families and the local community coming to terms with an afternoon that turned into tragedy.
Counselling and support services are expected to be offered to the young players, their families and witnesses in the days ahead, as the community begins the long process of recovery from a day nobody will forget.