Witnesses speak out following fatal Kansas youth soccer pickup truck incident that killed two and left 10 injured
Witnesses have spoken out after two people were killed and ten were left injured in a horrific pickup truck incident during a youth soccer game in Kansas.
Cole Adrian, 6, and Nicholas Schafer, 35, tragically both died after being hit by the truck shortly before 3:30pm local time at Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita on Saturday (October 17).
Police said in a statement that a Chevrolet pickup car drove onto the field of play over the weekend and struck children and adults during the soccer game.
Ten other people, ages 5 to 68, were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Police Capt. Aaron Moses confirmed.
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Erica Case was watching her nine-year-old son play soccer on an adjacent field when the horrific event unfolded.
Speaking to NBC News, Case said: "I saw the truck hitting things. I saw debris flying in the air. I don’t know if it was a cone, a chair or a person, but you could see matter flying as the truck was barreling through the soccer field at a decent rate of speed."
She continued: "The moment that I recognized that that wasn’t gunshots, that that was bodies, I lost it. I lost it because it wasn’t just adults. It was also children.
"There are a lot of silent heroes that I know experienced much worse than I did, having to do mouth-to-mouth or CPR on somebody that’d been ran over by a truck."
Chris Adrian, the father of six-year-old Cole, expressed his family's heartbreak at the tragic passing of their young son.
“Cole was an incredible kid and could put a smile on anyone’s face,” Adrian said in a text message, as per the New York Times.
“He was the joy and light of our community. His pure heart was open to everyone. He had the best laugh. He was a friend with everyone, young or old.”
A 34-year-old woman, who was at the wheel of the vehicle, was taken into police custody following the incident but has since been released pending further investigation and toxicology tests.
Joe Sullivan, Wichita Police Department's chief, said in a statement: "Our hearts are with the families of [Cole] and Nicholas as they face an unimaginable loss. What should have been a day of children playing soccer and families spending time together ended in tragedy.
“We are also thinking about those who were injured, their loved ones and everyone who witnessed what happened. We know this tragedy has affected many people throughout our community, and we want those families to know they are not alone.”
Callum Jones