Two Killed, 11 Injured After Vehicle Drives Onto Field During Wichita Youth Soccer Game

A youth soccer game at Wichita’s Stryker Sports Complex turned fatal Saturday afternoon when a woman drove a truck onto the field, killing a 6-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man and leaving 11 people injured, Wichita police said.

The driver, a 34-year-old woman whose own child was playing soccer on a different field, struck the field around 3:25 p.m. local time, according to Aaron Moses of the Wichita Police Department. She was taken into custody and has been cooperative, Moses said. Two juveniles were with the mother in the truck, he added.

Police have not identified the boy or the man killed, and they said they are still working to determine what happened and why, including whether charges will be filed. The driver and two juveniles were still with the vehicle when officers and paramedics arrived, Moses said.

Eleven people were injured, including five children, with wounds ranging from bruises to extremely severe injuries, police said. None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening.

Vanessa Trammell was at her 13-year-old son’s soccer game nearby when she saw the truck drive across the neighboring field. "We thought it was going to stop but then it like kept going," she told CNN. The truck drove near the sidelines as her son’s team was in a huddle after the game.

"It was pure panic," Trammell said. "I didn’t know what was going on – just that people were being hit." Her son’s coach ran toward the area to help victims before paramedics arrived.

First responders arrived to find community members already giving medical aid, 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," Mire told reporters.

Investigators have interviewed more than 30 witnesses at the scene and others by phone, and they have asked the public for video from the complex, Moses said. It was not immediately clear how the vehicle got past the gate or how fast it was driving.

The Stryker Sports Complex has canceled all events until further notice. The facility hosts recreational and competitive youth soccer leagues from under-5 age groups through high school, as well as adult leagues, and has 11 outdoor turf fields and an indoor facility. Flag football state championship games scheduled at an adjacent field were suspended, the Kansas State High School Activities Association said.

Wichita Mayor Lily Wu said she was heartbroken. "Families came to Stryker Sports Complex to enjoy a Saturday afternoon watching their children play soccer. No one could have imagined the tragedy that would unfold," Wu said. Police had not filed charges as of Saturday night.

Reporting by CNN. Read the original report: 2 killed, multiple injured after mother drives onto field during youth soccer game in Wichita, Kansas.