No charges will be filed against the woman who plowed into a youth soccer field in Kansas and killed two people

The woman who killed a 6-year-old boy and a 35-year-old father after crashing her SUV onto a soccer field in Wichita, Kansas, will not face criminal charges. This was announced by Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett after concluding that the driver had fallen asleep and that the incident was the result of negligence, not a crime.

The incident took place on October 17 at the Stryker Sports Complex, where youth soccer games were being played. The driver, a 34-year-old woman from Garden City whose identity was not disclosed, had traveled to Wichita to watch her children play. That afternoon, she drove her SUV over the curb in the parking lot and onto one of the fields in the middle of a game, striking several people.

The incident

The fatal victims were Cole Adrian, age 6, and Nicholas Schafer, a 35-year-old Navy veteran. In addition, ten other people were injured.

Why won't the woman face charges?

Bennett held a press conference in which he presented a 28-page report on the investigation.

According to the document, the woman parked in front of one of the fields, reclined her seat, and fell asleep, convinced she had put the SUV in park. Nearly an hour later, she woke up to the screams of her two children, who were inside the vehicle, and of the people outside. She said she was disoriented and tried to brake, but was unable to do so.

Meanwhile, the toxicology tests did not detect any substances, General Motors technicians found no mechanical faults in the SUV, and there was no medical emergency either.

"The reasonable conclusion is that, while she slept, her foot unintentionally hit the gas pedal while the truck was in gear," the report states. Investigators were unable to determine how the SUV ended up in drive.

To file criminal charges in Kansas, prosecutors must prove that the driver endangered others "knowingly" or "recklessly." Furthermore, state law stipulates that a single act of negligence is not sufficient to charge someone with vehicular homicide.

"This is not a crime, and I cannot charge this driver with a crime," said the prosecutor.