Wichita Adds Barriers at Soccer Complex After Truck Killed Boy and Man
Newly released dispatch audio shows first responders treating the crash at Stryker Sports Complex as a mass-casualty incident. A 6-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man were killed and 10 others injured; the driver was released pending toxicology results.
Wichita will install temporary barriers at key locations around the Stryker Sports Complex after a pickup truck drove onto a soccer field and killed a 6-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man, the city confirmed. The move comes as newly released dispatch audio captures first responders treating the Saturday crash as a mass-casualty incident.
The victims were identified as Cole Adrian, 6, and Nicholas Schafer, 35. Both were from McPherson, a city roughly an hour north of Wichita. Ten other people were injured, including five children, according to police.
In the dispatch recordings, operators can be heard labeling the scene an «MCI,» the emergency-management term for a mass-casualty incident, as crews were sent to the complex. A 30-minute log of communications outlines how the response unfolded after the truck struck children and spectators.
The driver, a 34-year-old woman, was initially taken into custody but released without charges. Police said she was freed pending toxicology results and an examination of her Chevrolet pickup. She had two of her own children inside the vehicle at the time; one of them was playing soccer on a different field at the complex.
Investigators interviewed the driver and more than 30 witnesses, including the two children who were in the pickup. Before releasing her, police consulted with the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office. Authorities have not said whether criminal charges will follow, describing the case as an active and ongoing investigation.
The city's response extended beyond the barriers. Wichita said it would assess security around the complex, and police plan to be present at the facility this coming weekend. Local mental health professionals will also be on hand to assist families in the aftermath of the tragedy.
McPherson Mayor Jim Loving issued a statement addressing the losses. «There is nothing I can say that makes that right,» he said. «To the families who lost someone: this whole town is grieving with you, and we will stand with you for as long as it takes. To the injured and their families: we are praying for your recovery.»
Loving also thanked bystanders who stepped in before the first ambulance arrived and the first responders in Wichita and in McPherson. The crash has left two communities mourning while investigators continue to piece together what led the truck onto the field.
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