Skip to content

Crime & JusticeBreaking

Vehicle drives onto Wichita soccer field, killing a child and an adult

By

Coverage spectrum

Covered by 20 outlets, mostly right-leaning (60%).

53 articles in total, 1 of them opinion. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Police SUV and a dark pickup behind yellow tape on a grassy field
Image via New York PostHow images are chosenReport this image

Police in Wichita, Kansas, said a vehicle drove onto a soccer field at the Stryker Soccer Complex on Saturday, October 17, killing a child and an adult. Multiple people were injured, with the count given as ten by Sky News, Newsweek and the Daily Mail. Police said the driver was taken into custody; Newsweek later reported the driver was released. The Daily Mail reports the dead were a six-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man, and that no charges have been filed while detectives await toxicology results.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. A vehicle drove onto a soccer field at the Stryker Soccer Complex in Wichita, Kansas, on Saturday, October 17.

    Across the spectrumReported byLeft4Center3Right1Far Right3See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    CBS News, ABC News, The New York Times, The Guardian
    Center
    Newsweek, Straight Arrow News, Sky News
    Right
    Daily Mail
    Far Right
    Just the News, Townhall, Fox News

  2. Two people, a child and an adult, were killed.

    Across the spectrumReported byLeft4Center3Right1Far Right3See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    CBS News, ABC News, The New York Times, The Guardian
    Center
    Newsweek, Straight Arrow News, Sky News
    Right
    Daily Mail
    Far Right
    Just the News, Townhall, Fox News

  3. About ten other people were injured, with ages reported from 5 to 68.

    Reported byLeft2Center2Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The New York Times, The Guardian
    Center
    Sky News, Newsweek
    Right
    Daily Mail

  4. Police said the driver was taken into custody.

    Reported byLeft2Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The New York Times, The Guardian
    Far Right
    Fox News

  5. Newsweek reported that the driver was later released.

    One outletNewsweek· Center

  6. Wichita police said in an update that no charges had been filed against the driver while detectives await toxicology results.

    One outletDaily Mail· Right

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • The driver's custody status after the crash.

    Police said on October 17 that the driver was taken into custody, as reported by Fox News, The Guardian and The New York Times. Newsweek later reported the driver was released, and the Daily Mail reported that no charges had been filed.

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports a vehicle driving onto a Wichita soccer field, killing a child and an adult. Left and center headlines lead with the toll and the driver, right headlines with the truck, and the Daily Mail with rumors and no charges.

  • the left

    5 outlets

    Left headlines lead with the death toll and the driver, often attributing the details to police; the New York Times uses the same plowing-truck language as the right.

    At least 2 killed after driver drives onto soccer field in Wichita, Kansas
    CBS NewsLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    3 outlets

    Center headlines lead with the death toll and the vehicle driving onto a youth soccer field, with Newsweek adding the driver's release in a later story.

    Two Dead After Vehicle Drives onto Youth Soccer Field in Kansas
    NewsweekCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    12 outlets

    Right-side headlines lead with the truck driving into the field and the death toll; the Daily Mail instead leads with police rumors and the lack of charges.

    Truck Loaded verb“Plows Into”The verb implies a deliberate ramming, while police have not established how the vehicle came to hit the field.More neutral: Drives OntoDisagree with this highlight? Wichita Soccer Field, Leaving Two Dead and Others Wounded
    TownhallFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left3

    Plowing Ontobarreled throughdevolved into chaos

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right16

    plowed throughhorrifying incidentdesperately workedPlows Into

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    plowed throughMore neutral: drove through

    The verb suggests deliberate force, while the coverage says authorities have not said whether the crash was deliberate.

    A black pickup truck reportedly plowed through youth soccer fields at Wichita's Stryker Sports Complex, striking multiple people.…

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)The Daily Wire (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    horrifying incidentMore neutral: incident

    The adjective adds emotional weight that the account of the event does not need.

    The horrifying incident unfolded at around 3:25pm on Saturday afternoon at Stryker Sports Complex,…

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Sensational language

    desperately workedMore neutral: worked

    The adverb adds drama to emergency crews’ work that the report describes without it.

    …with several other casualties rushed to nearby hospitals as emergency crews desperately worked to save lives.

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    Plows IntoMore neutral: Drives Onto

    The verb implies a deliberate ramming, while police have not established how the vehicle came to hit the field.

    Truck Plows Into Wichita Soccer Field, Leaving Two Dead and Others Wounded

    Used byTownhall (Far Right)

Show 15 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Sensational language

    mowing downMore neutral: struck

    The image of mowing people down is more vivid than the reported facts, which say the vehicle struck people.

    …straight through a soccer game at the Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita Kansas, mowing down numerous people, at around 3:25 pm Saturday, Daily Mail reported.

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Sensational language

    hauntingMore neutral: words of regret

    The adjective adds drama to the outlet's own description of the driver's words, which the description itself does not require.

    …34, who plowed her pickup truck through a youth soccer game was heard uttering haunting words of regret after a boy, six, and a man, 35, were killed in Kansas.

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    inexplicably droveMore neutral: drove

    Calling the driving inexplicable presents as settled something police said they were still investigating.

    A 34-year-old woman inexplicably drove her pickup truck with two children as passengers through a Kansas youth soccer…

    Used byBreitbart News (Far Right)

  • Loaded verb

    smashed intoMore neutral: drove into

    Smashed adds force and drama beyond the reported fact that the truck entered the crowd area.

    The unidentified 34-year-old driver smashed into the crowd of people at the Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita on Saturday evening —…

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    Plowing OntoMore neutral: driving onto

    Plowing adds an image of force that the reported facts do not establish.

    Driver Is Released After Plowing Onto Soccer Field in Wichita, Kan., Killing Two

    Used byThe New York Times (Left)

  • Sensational language

    suddenly releasedMore neutral: released without charges

    The word suggests the release was unusual or suspect, which the reporting does not establish; police said the release followed interviews and was pending tests.

    …Kansas youth soccer game are identified… as mom allegedly behind the wheel is suddenly released

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    barreled throughMore neutral: drove through

    The verb suggests speed and force beyond the reported fact that a pickup drove onto the field.

    Witnesses of Saturday’s deadly collision in which a pickup truck barreled through a youth soccer game in Kansas, killing two people and injuring nearly a dozen,…

    Used byNBC News (Left)

  • Sensational language

    devolved into chaosMore neutral: was disrupted when a pickup truck drove onto the field

    Chaos is a dramatic characterization; the description reports the vehicle's entry onto the field and the injuries.

    A kids soccer game in Kansas devolved into chaos when a black pickup truck plowed onto the field killing two people and injuring…

    Used byNBC News (Left)

  • Loaded verb

    plowed onto the fieldMore neutral: drove onto the field

    The verb plowed implies force beyond the reported fact that the truck drove onto the field.

    Cole Adrian died alongside 35-year-old Nicholas Schafer when the truck plowed onto the field at the Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita on Saturday.

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    driver kills boy, manMore neutral: after vehicle hits boy, man

    The headline states as fact that the driver killed two people, while the article says the driver allegedly plowed into them and was released without charges.

    …Kansas soccer field dispatch call captures mass-casualty response after driver kills boy, man

    Used byFox News (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    in horrorMore neutral: that killed

    The phrase adds emotional drama to the description of the deaths beyond the facts reported.

    …recalls terrifying moment pickup truck plowed through Kansas youth soccer game in horror that killed dad-of-three and a six-year-old boy

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Sensational language

    horrifyingMore neutral: fatal

    The word adds the writer’s emotional reaction to the crash, which the reported facts do not state.

    …the moment the unidentified mother, 34, was taken into custody by police after the horrifying incident killed Cole Adrian, six, and Nicholas Schafer, 35, on Saturday afternoon.

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    enraged familiesMore neutral: families

    The word enraged describes the families' emotional state in a way the article does not support with quoted evidence.

    Yet enraged families demand answers.

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    debunkingMore neutral: addressing

    The verb asserts that the rumors are false before the investigation has concluded.

    The Wichita Police Department issued a fresh update over the October 17 tragedy, debunking speculation about the legal and criminal status of the unidentified driver and…

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    hit out atMore neutral: responded to

    The verb presents the police update as an angry attack rather than a statement, which goes beyond the facts reported.

    Kansas soccer field tragedy investigators hit out at social media rumors in update over why no charges have been laid crash killed two…

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

5 outlets

Leads with

  • death toll and child victim
  • the driver
  • police as source
See the 7 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

3 outlets

Leads with

  • death toll
  • vehicle on youth field
  • driver released
See the 3 headlines from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

12 outlets

Leads with

  • truck plowing into field
  • death toll
  • police rumors and no charges
See the 16 headlines from the rightHide the headlines

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    20 min later

    Its first report, Oct 17, 6:33 PM EDT

  • Center

    1 min later

    Its first report, Oct 17, 6:13 PM EDT

  • Right

    First to report

    Daily Mail, Oct 17, 6:12 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Daily MailRightOct 17, 6:12 PM EDT
  2. NewsweekCenterOct 17, 6:13 PM EDT
  3. TownhallFar RightOct 17, 6:29 PM EDT
  4. Fox NewsFar RightOct 17, 6:33 PM EDT
  5. CBS NewsLeftOct 17, 6:33 PM EDT
  6. ABC NewsLeftOct 17, 6:39 PM EDT
  7. The New York TimesLeftOct 17, 6:45 PM EDT
  8. The GuardianLeftOct 17, 7:09 PM EDT
  9. New York PostRightOct 17, 7:16 PM EDT
  10. RedStateFar RightOct 17, 7:18 PM EDT
  11. Straight Arrow NewsCenterOct 17, 7:31 PM EDT
  12. The Western JournalFar RightOct 17, 7:48 PM EDT
  13. NBC NewsLeftOct 17, 8:09 PM EDT
  14. The Epoch TimesFar RightOct 17, 9:03 PM EDT
  15. Sky NewsCenterOct 18, 2:21 AM EDT
  16. The Daily WireFar RightOct 18, 6:14 AM EDT
  17. The Washington TimesRightOct 18, 10:41 AM EDT
  18. Breitbart NewsFar RightOct 18, 1:41 PM EDT
  19. TheBlazeFar RightOct 19, 1:45 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out. Just the News gave only a date, so it is not placed.

Read next

Help someone else find the truth beneath the surface

Most people see one side of a story. Share this one, so they can see how every side is telling it and decide for themselves.

Email it

Seen a mistake? Tell us what is wrong with this page