A soccer mom napping in her pickup truck when it suddenly accelerated on to the field at a Kansas youth tournament where her child was playing, killing two people, won’t face criminal charges, a prosecutor has said.
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prosecutor → nap → charges
Investigators believe the 34-year-old woman had failed to put the Chevrolet 1500 in park and likely put her foot on the gas pedal while sleeping at the Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita on 17 October.
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woman → believe → October
They conducted multiple interviews and even ran a test in the same parking spot with a similar vehicle.
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They → conduct → vehicle
“I cannot prove she consciously disregarded a tremendous risk to people on that field,” the Sedgwick county district attorney, Marc Bennett, said on Thursday.
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attorney → prove → Thursday
He acknowledged the public might find his decision strange.
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decision → acknowledge → ?
Bennett’s 28-page report listed possible crimes that might be triggered when a person causes the death of another person but said none fit the soccer field tragedy under Kansas law.
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none → list → law
“If I could charge somebody, why wouldn’t I?” Bennett said at a news conference.
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Bennett → charge → conference
“But I also have an obligation to stand up and say, ‘It’s not here.’”
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It → have → obligation
The two people killed at the scene were Cole Adrian, six, and Nicholas Schafer, 35, both from McPherson, Kansas, police said.
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police → kill → McPherson
Ten others ranging in age from five to 68 were reported injured and treated at area hospitals.
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others → range → hospitals
The Wichita police chief, Joe Sullivan, said his department spoke to victims and families before the report and other information were released publicly.
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report → say → victims
“Every lead was examined.
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lead → examine → ?
Every piece of evidence was reviewed.
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piece → review → evidence
Every reasonable avenue available to us was pursued …
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avenue → pursue → us
Our responsibility is not to fill gaps with assumptions or speculation,” Sullivan said.
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Sullivan → fill → assumptions
The report said the day started with the woman driving to the soccer field with three children.
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woman → say → children
After two games, they left the Stryker complex for a meal and returned by 2.30pm for another game.
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they → leave → game
While one child went to a field to play, the mom and her two other children remained in the pickup truck.
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mom → go → truck
She said she was going to take a nap, and a daughter covered the windshield with a two-panel sunscreen, the report said.
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report → say → sunscreen
Less than an hour later, the vehicle began to move.
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vehicle → begin → ?
“There is no evidence to support the conclusion that she knew the truck was still in drive, or evidence to explain what motive she would have had to do so,” the report said.
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report → be → motive
Wichita police detectives ran an identical test.
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detectives → run → test
They parked a Chevy 1500 in the same stall and also in drive mode – and “the truck stayed in place until the accelerator was pressed,” the report said.
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report → park → place
“We sat there and waited and waited,” Bennett said at a news conference.
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Bennett → sit → conference
“After about 15 minutes we went, ‘This truck isn’t moving.’ …
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truck → go → minutes
Tires against a 7in curb and it did not move.”
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it → move → curb
Investigators said they interviewed more than 30 witnesses.
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they → say → witnesses
Blood tests showed no evidence of drugs that would have impaired the driver’s judgment, the report said.
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report → show → judgment
The report said the woman awoke to screams inside and outside the truck and the feeling of the vehicle moving.
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vehicle → say → truck
Bennett said people who immediately pulled the driver from the truck found her sleepy, “sobbing, at turns described as frantic, hysterical, saying, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry.
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I → say → turns
What have I done?’”
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I → do → What
According to Bennett, the case could be tried in civil court.
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case → accord → court
Guardian staff contributed reporting
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staff → contribute → reporting
The Aporia
