No charges for woman whose car drove onto soccer field, killed 2

Nov. 13 (UPI) — A woman whose car drove onto a Wichita, Kan., soccer field and killed two people will not face charges for the incident.

Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett released the findings from the Oct. 17 incident on Thursday.

The driver was a 34-year-old woman who was napping in her car while one of her children played soccer on a nearby field. She had awakened at 6 a.m. and driven 200 miles to the venue, Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan said at a news conference.

The woman, who hasn’t been named, parked her car in a parking space facing a field. She reclined her seat and told the children in the car that she was taking a nap. One of the children put a sun shade over the windshield, Sullivan said.

The pickup truck she was napping in jumped a 7-inch curb, sped onto the field and hit and killed Adrian Cole, 6, and Nicholas Schafer, 35, and injured 10 others.

Police interviewed the driver, her children and more than 100 witnesses. They also inspected and researched the vehicle and potential issues with it and found no mechanical issues, officials said.

Witnesses said she exited the truck, saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” and “I was asleep, I was asleep” while “crying hysterically.”

The driver volunteered her blood for testing and fully cooperated with police. She was tested for more than 50 impairing substances and was found to be clear of them all.

Investigators were unable to determine if she had placed the car in park or if she or a child had accidentally knocked the shifter out of gear.

“There is no evidence that this driver intentionally or recklessly or knowingly drove onto the soccer field,” Bennett’s report said. “Nothing suggests the driver knew that the truck was in drive (or had been inadvertently shifted into drive) when she put her foot on the gas while sleeping. That the driver’s chair-back remained in the fully reclined position after the wreck when others ran to the truck; and that the sunscreens were still in place (while her own child was on a field somewhere) all constitute affirmative evidence that she did not act intentionally or knowingly.”

“If I could charge this, I would. … This is simply a reflection of the fact that I am looking at the laws that are available to me in a case like this, and this is where we’re at,” Bennett said at a press conference.