Wichita police failed families by releasing soccer field driver

By Daniel Okafor · Reporting from New York · October 21, 2026

After a truck killed two people at a youth soccer game, the Wichita Police Department wrongly released the driver without charges before toxicology tests were finalized.

The Wichita Police Department and the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office are wrong. They released a woman who drove a pickup truck into a youth soccer game before they had the evidence to justify her freedom. They chose the liberty of a suspect over the immediate accountability demanded by two dead bodies.

A release before the results

A woman from Garden City drove a dark Chevrolet pickup onto a field at the Stryker Sports Complex on Saturday. The truck struck children and adults during a game. Cole Adrian, 6, and Nicholas Schafer, 35, died at the scene. Ten other people were injured. According to KAKE, the Wichita Police Department released the driver Sunday.

The driver spent less than 12 hours in custody. She gave a recorded statement and was released while police waited for toxicology tests and a mechanical examination of the truck. TMZ said investigators are examining speeding, mechanical failure, and driving under the influence.

Chief Joe Sullivan said the law and constitution required the release. He said the decision may not be popular. He argued that the department does not take its oath to the law for granted. The police had a driver who plowed through a crowd of children. They let her go because they lacked a blood test.

The truck barreled through the field

The facts of the crash do not suggest a quiet accident. Erica Case heard an engine revving and "boom" sounds. She saw debris and matter flying in the air as the truck barreled through the field at a decent rate of speed. David Griekspoor described the sound as "small gunfire." He said he looked up and saw the truck going through a line of people.

The victims were not just numbers. The injured included children and adults who sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The driver had two children in the truck. One of those children had a game on a different field at the complex.

Police interviewed more than 30 witnesses. They found no documented criminal history for the driver, and said she is not in the country illegally. Despite this, the speed of her release sparked a public outcry.

Was there probable cause?

Attorney Charles O’Hara said Kansas procedure allows custody for up to 48 "legal hours" before probable cause is determined. Probable cause means there is evidence a crime was committed and evidence the person did it. The Wichita Police Department consulted with the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office and decided they did not have enough to hold her.

This delay in accountability follows the mechanism of the Union Carbide disaster. In that case, a technical failure led to mass casualties, which then led to a long dispute over the cause and legal accountability. The Wichita Police Department is using a potential mechanical failure as a shield. By treating the event as a technical question, they have paused the legal process. In Wichita, the statement served as a bridge to the driver's front door.

Jamie Copenhaver, a former sheriff's detective, said law enforcement needed to do a better job describing why charges were not filed. The department instead focused on social media rumors. They denied that a Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office deputy was involved. They asked the public to be responsible with what they share. They spent more time managing the narrative than explaining why a woman who killed a child was allowed to go home.

The Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office will likely file involuntary manslaughter and reckless driving charges once the forensic downloads and toxicology reports are finalized. Precedent suggests that vehicle event data recorder logs often prove excessive speed and erratic steering. If the black box shows the driver accelerated into the crowd, the claim of "no probable cause" becomes a confession of investigative failure. Unless the mechanical inspection reveals a catastrophic component failure that disabled all controls, the driver's release was a mistake. The families of Cole Adrian and Nicholas Schafer now have to wait for a lab report to find out if the person who killed their loved ones will ever face a judge.

Wichita police failed families by releasing soccer field driver

A release before the results

The truck barreled through the field

Was there probable cause?

Sources