Kansas DA Declines Charges In Pickup Crash That Killed Boy And Father
Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett has decided not to file criminal charges against the woman whose pickup rolled onto a Wichita youth soccer field in October, killing a 6-year-old boy and a 35-year-old father and injuring 10 others.[1]
Announcing his decision in a 28-page report released Thursday, Bennett said Kansas law does not support charges because investigators found negligence but not the "criminal recklessness" required for manslaughter or vehicular homicide, despite the tragedy's severity.[1]
On October 17, a pickup truck parked at the Stryker Sports Complex drifted out of a stall and accelerated onto a field during youth games, striking players and spectators before coming to a stop. Autopsies two days later found that 6-year-old Adrian Cole and 35-year-old Nicholas Schafer died from blunt trauma after being hit by the moving vehicle, while 10 others suffered varying injuries. A subsequent inspection by General Motors on October 28 reported no system failures or mechanical defects that could explain the truck's movement.
According to Bennett's report, the driver told detectives she believed she had shifted the truck into park before reclining her seat and falling asleep in the vehicle. Investigators concluded the truck remained in gear and that her foot likely pressed the gas pedal while she slept, causing the vehicle to accelerate across the lot and onto the field. The report said there was no evidence of driver impairment, medical emergency, or vehicle malfunction, framing the case as a catastrophic mistake rather than a crime.
Bennett wrote that under Kansas statutes, criminal charges would require proof that the driver consciously disregarded a known and substantial risk, a standard he said the evidence does not meet. Instead, he characterized the conduct as negligence that may have civil consequences but does not rise to criminal recklessness, a distinction that is likely to frustrate grieving families but is central to how prosecutors are bound to apply state law.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- On October 17, 2026, a pickup rolled from a parking stall onto a youth soccer field at Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, killing Adrian Cole, 6, and Nicholas Schafer, 35, and injuring 10 others.
- DA Marc Bennett’s 28-page report, released November 12, 2026, found no evidence of driver impairment, medical emergency, or vehicle malfunction.
- The driver told detectives she thought the truck was in park before she reclined her seat and slept; the report concludes her foot likely unintentionally pressed the gas pedal while the truck was in gear.
- Autopsies on October 19 attributed both deaths to blunt trauma from being struck by a moving vehicle, and a General Motors inspection on October 28 found no system failures.
- Bennett determined Kansas law did not support criminal charges, characterizing the incident as negligence rather than criminal recklessness.
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