DA: No charges for driver in Stryker Sports Complex crash

The Sedgwick County district attorney announced Thursday that the driver in the Oct. 17 crash at Stryker Sports Complex will not face charges, saying evidence shows the deadly incident was not intentional, knowing, or reckless under Kansas law. Two people were killed and 10 others injured when a pickup entered a youth soccer field.

Key Takeaways

• District Attorney Marc Bennett said the driver will not be charged and called the crash “not a crime” under Kansas law.
• Nick Schafer, 35, and 6-year-old Cole Adrian, both of McPherson, were killed; 10 others ages 5 to 68 were injured.
• Police found no impairing substances, no vehicle recalls, and no mechanical defects after reviewing videos, 911 calls, and witness accounts.
• Bennett ruled out intentional, knowing, and reckless conduct; negligent homicide is not a chargeable offense in Kansas.
• Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan said some questions about how the truck shifted into gear may never be answered with certainty.

What did officials announce about the Stryker Sports Complex crash?

On Nov. 12, 2026, Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett and Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan held a press conference to update the public on the investigation into the Oct. 17 deadly crash at Stryker Sports Complex in northeast Wichita. According to KWCH, Bennett announced that the driver of the pickup that struck and killed two people and injured 10 others will not face charges.

“This is not a crime, and I cannot charge this driver with a crime,” Bennett said, as reported by both KWCH and KAKE. Sullivan said officials met privately with the victims’ families before making the decision public.

The crash happened during a youth soccer match near 29th and Greenwich. Sedgwick County Emergency Communications received multiple 911 calls around 3:25 p.m. reporting that a truck had driven onto a soccer field, KAKE reported.

Who was killed and injured, and what do we know about the driver?

Nick Schafer, 35, and Cole Adrian, 6, both of McPherson, were killed in the crash. Ten other people, ranging in age from 5 to 68, were injured and taken to area hospitals. KAKE reported that police have not provided condition updates on the injured despite multiple requests.

Police identified the driver as a 34-year-old woman from Garden City. She has not been publicly named beyond being referred to as “she.” Officials said she drove to Stryker Sports Complex from Garden City with her children, who played soccer there that day. The pickup was not her usual vehicle, she reported.

According to Sullivan, before the incident the driver told her children she was going to take a nap and put her seat all the way back. After she fell asleep, one of her children—described as her 14-year-old—put up a sunshade. She believed she had put the pickup into park. Bennett said she had no confrontations at Stryker that day and hysterically expressed regret afterward. Sullivan said she was cooperative at all times and was released from custody; investigators initially lacked probable cause to arrest her after consulting the DA’s office.

Why were no charges filed after the investigation?

Bennett said charges would require proof the act was intentional, knowing, and/or reckless. He considered six possible explanations: a medical emergency; impairment or intoxication; a vehicle mechanical malfunction; an intentional act; one of the children or the woman, while she slept, inadvertently putting the vehicle into drive; and confusion about the gear as she pulled up to the curb.

Bennett ruled out the first five possibilities and did not reach a conclusion on the sixth, KWCH reported. He said there was evidence the crash was not done on purpose. “There are no facts uncovered by this investigation to suggest this was an intentional act,” he said, according to KAKE. He also said there were no facts to conclude it was a knowing or reckless act as defined by Kansas law—meaning conscious disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk.

Bennett noted that while the crash may have appeared negligent, negligent homicide is not a chargeable offense in Kansas, and the incident did not meet the standards for vehicular homicide, a misdemeanor in the state. “There is no path forward to a criminal culpability for her,” he said.

A blood sample showed no impairing substances. Medical records were subpoenaed. Sullivan said medical records and videos offered no evidence of impairment. Police obtained a vehicle history, checked for recalls, and found none. An inspection showed no mechanical issues.

Investigators reviewed 60 videos and 41 emergency calls and interviewed more than 100 witnesses, KWCH reported. An off-duty law enforcement officer was among the first to communicate with the driver and recorded the interaction. Sullivan said if the vehicle had been left in park, it would not have cleared the curb onto the field; officers recreating the scene concluded the gas had to have been engaged. She had parked in a west-facing stall with a direct line onto the field, where the sideline—and one of her children—was right in front of the truck.

“There are some questions that we may never be able to answer with complete certainty,” Sullivan said. Bennett said the investigation’s philosophy was to “know everything that was knowable,” and Sullivan added that every lead and piece of evidence was examined.

For more BlasterPost coverage across our desks, including practical money and planning explainers in our Wealth Hacks & Passive Income hub, check back as local developments continue to unfold.

What happens next for families and the public?

With Bennett’s announcement, no criminal charges will be filed against the driver based on the evidence presented. Officials framed the outcome around Kansas legal standards rather than the devastation of the Oct. 17 afternoon at Stryker Sports Complex, where a pickup left a parking stall and entered active play.

Families of Schafer and Adrian were briefed before the public update. Police and prosecutors emphasized a broad evidence review—toxicology, vehicle inspection, witness statements, and video—before concluding the legal threshold for a crime was not met. Some mechanical and mental-state questions about when and how the truck moved into drive remain unresolved, officials said.

BlasterPost will continue following authoritative local reporting on the case. Readers seeking context on the press-conference findings can start with the KWCH and KAKE accounts cited above.