There has been significant new detail surrounding the 34-year-old woman who plowed her truck onto a Kansas soccer game last month, killing a 35-year-old man and a 6-year-old boy, and injuring 11 others.
According to Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett and Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan (via NBC News), investigators believe that the woman, who has not been identified, may have accidentally accelerated while she was napping in her vehicle, and she will not be criminally charged.
Woman Who Drove Her Car Onto Soccer Field, Killing 2 Won’t Be Charged
Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett shared new developments about the woman who drove her truck onto a soccer field at the Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita on October 17, killing two people and injuring many, stating that is may have been a terrible accident.
“I can not only find no evidence of an intentional crime, I can find affirmative evidence that there was not an intentional crime,” he said in a statement.
According to ABC News, the new developments also offered a timeline of what may have happened, with investigators coming up with two possible scenarios.
The 34-year-old woman woke up around 6 a.m. and drove more than 200 miles to the sports complex with her children. Later that day, she parked near one of the soccer fields and reclined her seat to take a nap. One of her children was still in the vehicle when they decided to put up a sunshade to prevent people from looking at her mother. At around 3:30 p.m., investigators believed she may have inadvertently pressed the accelerator while she slept, causing the truck to jump a 7-inch curb and drive onto the field.
Those who were killed were later identified as 35-year-old Nicholas Schafer and 6-year-old Cole Adrian. Several other children and adults were also hit, but sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Authorities Come Up with Scenarios as to How Her Car May Have Driven Onto the Field
Possible scenarios investigators were looking at were whether the woman may have accidentally left the vehicle in drive when she fell asleep and pressed the gas pedal. “What we found was that the truck could be parked in that parking spot against that seven-inch curb, and if left in drive, would not go over that curb,” Police Chief Joe Sullivan said. “It was only when gas was applied … would those tires overtake the curb.”
Another scenario is that the woman may have put the car from park into drive while she was sleeping, but it was unlikely, given that she would have to do several steps, including stepping on the brake, shifting gears, and releasing the brake. Authorities have not definitively established how the truck ended up moving.
During the investigation, the child who was inside the truck confirmed that her mother was sleeping, “Next thing they know, the truck is leaping forward,” Bennett said.
“Mom says she wakes to, her kids are screaming, she looks up, she’s disoriented, she’s trying to sit up from a completely relaxed position to sit forward. Reaches for the steering wheel, looks up, sees shades that were not there when she went to sleep, batting at them,” he added.
The woman was cooperative with police and after examination found that she was not under the influence or had a medical episode. Her truck was also examined, and there were no findings of malfunction.
Investigators Reveal What May Have Caused Woman to Drive Truck Onto Soccer Field, Killing 2