She entered the football field while the children were playing, knocking over anyone in her way. It happened yesterday afternoon, Saturday 17 October, in the Stryker Soccer Complex in Wichita, Kansas (United States), where a 34-year-old mother drove her black pick-up onto the green lawn, risking committing a real massacre. The dramatic toll, unfortunately still provisional, is two dead and at least 11 injured.
The car on the field
As confirmed by Aaron Moses, captain and executive officer of the Wichita Police Department, the victims are a six-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man. Among the injured are two 5-year-olds, two 8-year-olds, a 9-year-old and five adults.
The woman behind the wheel, who was in the vehicle with two other children, was subsequently stopped and taken into custody by the police, but it is still not clear what pushed her to commit such an action.
The testimony of the witnesses
According to what some witnesses reported, the car entered the field at breakneck speed, overwhelming the children who were playing and the families who were there to watch the match. “We thought it would stop, but then it kept going,” Vanessa Trammell, mother of a 13-year-old boy, told CNN. “I didn’t know what was happening, only that people were getting hit. I don’t know if someone tried to block the car or what happened.”
The episode required massive intervention by the police, who fenced off the football pitch while investigations into the matter are underway: “It is not yet clear how the vehicle passed the gate or at what speed it was proceeding – added Moses -. We are working hard to find out why it happened”.