Wichita Soccer Field Crash Kills Boy, 6, and Man, 35

The Wichita soccer field crash left a six-year-old boy and a thirty-five-year-old man dead on Saturday afternoon, after a woman drove a truck through a youth game in Kansas, according to The Associated Press. Eleven other people were hurt, and police are still working out why it happened.

What happened at the complex

Sedgwick County 911 started getting calls around three twenty-five in the afternoon, local time, reporting that a vehicle had driven through a game at the Stryker Sports Complex in east Wichita. Police Captain Aaron Moses said the driver, a thirty-four-year-old woman, is in custody.

A witness told KWCH that a black pickup truck drove across the youth fields and struck several people before it stopped. The station reported that the victims who died were both from McPherson, Kansas, and were not related, according to KWCH.

Who was hurt

Police said the injured ranged in age from five to sixty-eight. KWCH reported the list includes two five-year-olds, two eight-year-olds and a nine-year-old, along with several adults. Another woman was taken to hospital for a medical issue that was not trauma related.

Two children were also inside the truck, police said. Moses declined to say whether investigators believe the crash was intentional, saying officers were still working to determine how and why it happened.

Bystanders stepped in first

Police Chief Joe Sullivan said people at the complex sprang into action to give lifesaving help before first responders arrived. He called it truly amazing and said it reflects the Wichita community. Emergency crews later took eleven people to local hospitals.

Authorities said there is no further threat to the public. Mayor Lily Wu asked people to stay away from the area during the investigation and called the news heartbreaking.

The sports complex was busy with other events. According to the Johnson County Post, two Shawnee Mission high school teams were playing in a flag football third-place state game nearby, and those students were reported safe.

What witnesses saw

Bethany Pope, a soccer parent from Rose Hill whose nine-year-old son was playing, told the Wichita Eagle that she was sitting in her car facing the field when she spotted the black truck. She said the driver never slowed down and plowed through everybody. She placed the crash on Field four.

Vanessa Trammell was at her thirteen-year-old son's game nearby and told CNN she saw the truck cross the neighboring field and strike several people. She said onlookers thought it would stop, but it kept going. Another attendee told the same outlet the pickup jumped the curb before driving onto the pitch.

Witnesses also described a loud noise at the moment of impact. One told local media the truck traveled roughly one hundred to two hundred yards across the fields before coming to rest, and dozens of responders gave CPR and other aid at the scene.

The injuries and the response

Reuters reported that ten of the injured had traumatic injuries believed to be non-life-threatening. Sedgwick County Emergency Medical Service moved eleven people to area hospitals, and officials said bystanders were already helping when crews arrived.

Police said the truck was found on the west side of a field at the west end of the complex, with the driver and two young girls still inside. Authorities have not said what happened to the children after that or where they went, and officials said the victims' names would come after families were notified.

Why this one hits home

What investigators still need to answer

Police have not said whether charges will be filed. Local reports say the driver has been cooperative, had no warrants and held a valid license, and that investigators believe she had a child playing at the complex, though not on that field.

Police said they will work with the district attorney to decide what comes next. Officials have promised more updates as the investigation moves forward.

For families, the story is a painful reminder of how fast an ordinary weekend game can turn into a tragedy. Check back for updates, and see our world and health coverage for more.