A mother who was driving a truck that struck people at a Wichita, Kansas, soccer complex will not face criminal charges, Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said Thursday. The Oct. 17 crash killed a 6-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man.
“This is not a crime, and I cannot charge this driver with a crime,” Bennett said at a news conference with Wichita police.
Police Chief Joe Sullivan said the 34-year-old woman from Garden City had told her children she planned to nap after returning to the sports complex. She reclined her seat, and one of the children put up a sunshade. The truck remained in a parking stall from 2:36 p.m. until the crash, which was reported at about 3:25 p.m.
The woman had left Garden City at 7 a.m. with her children, who were taking part in soccer matches. After driving nearly four hours, they had lunch and ran errands between 1:20 and 2:30 p.m., then returned to the complex.
Cole Adrian, 6, and Nicholas Schafer, 35, both of McPherson, died. Ten other people, ages 5 to 68, were injured and taken to hospitals. None of the survivors had critical injuries as of Thursday.
Investigators found no evidence of impairment, and the woman cooperated with police. Testing found no impairing substances in the truck or in a blood sample she provided. An inspection also found no mechanical problems, and investigators found no recalls or service bulletins for the vehicle. The truck belonged to her husband, and she had been driving it for a few days; it was not her usual vehicle.
Police recreated the scene using a similar truck and an officer of similar size. They found that a truck left in drive would not cross the curb unless its accelerator was pressed.
In his report, Bennett said it was less plausible that the woman had put the truck in park and that it then shifted into drive while she slept. That scenario would have required several steps, including pressing the brake, moving the shifter, and then taking her foot off the brake and placing it on the accelerator. Investigators considered it more likely that she believed she had put the truck in park but had left it in drive, then accidentally pressed the accelerator while asleep.
Bennett said investigators found no evidence that the woman acted intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly. Kansas law does not recognize negligent homicide, and prosecutors could not establish the level of conduct needed for a vehicular homicide charge. Bennett said bringing such a charge would amount to judging the incident with hindsight.
Some of the affected families are working with a law firm that is considering possible civil lawsuits.
