Father pays tribute to his six-year-old son, killed by truck on Kansas football field | Kansas

The father of Cole Adrian, a six-year-old boy killed as a woman ran through a soccer game in a Wichita, Kansas, park on Oct. 17, paid a moving tribute to his son at his funeral Monday.

Chris Adrian, of McPherson, Kansas, spoke through tears as he remembered Cole as an energetic, fun-loving kid who loved life and “captured the hearts” of everyone he met.

“Cole would often tell us it was the ‘best day ever,’ even on days when nothing really special was happening,” Adrian said during the eulogy, which was live-streamed. “He found joy in the simplest things and had a way of making ordinary days extraordinary.

“The world would be a much brighter place if we all had a little more of Cole’s heart.”

Cole’s service at McPherson Free Methodist Church was his family’s farewell to one of two victims in the tragedy at the Stryker Sports Complex that remains under police investigation.

Nicholas Schafer, 35, a football coach and middle school teacher also from McPherson, about an hour north of Wichita, was also killed when a van with a 34-year-old woman behind the wheel allegedly ran from a parking lot and across the field where a game was being played.

Ten other people were injured, including girls aged five and nine, two boys aged eight and a boy aged five.

The suspected driver, from Garden City, Kansas, who police said had two of her own children in the car with her, was arrested at the scene. She was released a day later without charges pending further investigation, including toxicology test results as well as an examination of her truck.

At Monday’s service, Adrian said the family was comforted by the support of Wichita’s youth soccer community, whose players wore tribute jerseys emblazoned with the letters “LLCA” at a game days after Cole’s death.

“At first we didn’t know what that meant,” he said, shaking the hand of his wife, Cole’s mother, Natalie.

“And so we sat there in the press box, and it was ‘laugh like Cole’ – oh no, no, it could be ‘love like Cole’, ‘live like Cole’, ‘long live Cole’.

“Everyone felt perfect. They’re more than words on a shirt now. They’re a reminder of who Cole was and who we can all strive to be.”

Adrian said his family also leaned heavily on their Christian faith.

“Monday morning, there was a double rainbow over our town of McPherson – and to me, it was an answer, it was a promise, it was a reminder from heaven that Cole and Nick are here together, and that one day we will see them again,” he said.

“We miss Cole more than we could ever express, and there are no words that can make this hurt any less. There are no pep talks that can make any of this make sense or be acceptable. There is one thing that gives us comfort and that is that last week, Cole walked through those gates of heaven like we’ve seen him run across that football field so many times.

“I could see him running at full speed, wrapping his arms around Jesus and giving him one of those famous hugs. Saying those words that we were so lucky to hear so many times: ‘best day of my life’.”

Investigators urged the public to be patient as they continue to examine the circumstances of the case in search of a cause.

Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan released a statement defending the driver’s release the day after the tragedy.

“We know that this case has captured the attention of people across the country, and many of them have strong opinions even if they don’t have direct knowledge of what happened,” he said, as reported by Kansas NPR affiliate KCUR.

“We recognize that the decision we are required by law and the Constitution to make on October 18 may not be a popular one. We take an oath to support the laws of the State of Kansas and the Constitution of the United States, and no one within the Wichita Police Department takes that oath for granted.”